Armscor Awards Alvis OMC Contract to Upgrade Vehicles
(Source: Alvis plc; dated July 28, released Aug. 4, 2004)
Alvis OMC has been awarded an upgrade and refurbishment contract by the Armament Corporation of South Africa (Armscor) valued at R164 million (equivalent to 21m euros or £14m) for the upgrade of Casspir MKII Mine Protected Vehicles for the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).
The upgrade and refurbishment of the Casspir MKII to MKIII status will include structural modifications for increased mobility with more robust axles.
This is part of Alvis OMC's commitment to ongoing support of customers' vehicles and is aimed at extending the life as well as increasing the reliability of vehicles in service.
"Alvis OMC is proud to undertake this important upgrade and refurbishment program, confirming its position as South Africa's premier provider and maintainer of armoured and mine protected vehicles to the SANDF", said Thami Mbele, Director Customer Logistic Support.
"The Casspir Vehicles have demonstrated unparalleled performance and reliability. This structured upgrade is an opportunity for us to attend to each vehicle individually and to make the necessary modifications for extended life and reliability," he said
Under the terms of the contract, Alvis OMC will refurbish the vehicles while Alvis Gear Ratio will supply axles manufactured under licence from an OEM.
The upgrade and refurbishment has already commenced and will be completed by February 2006 for SANDF Casspir MKII vehicles.
The Casspir Mine Protected Vehicle is the international benchmark for mine protection and offers high mobility, easy handling and crew comfort. The use of tried and tested drive line units ensures ease of maintenance, high availability and cost-effective operational deployment.
The vehicle design not only protects the crew against triple anti-tank landmines under any wheel, or double anti-tank landmines under the hull, but also facilitates rapid field repair after a landmine detonation.
BACKGROUND NOTES:
Alvis OMC is South Africa's primary military vehicle facility and covers all disciplines of the military vehicle spectrum including conceptualisation, design, development, manufacture, production, and in-service support. The company specialises in a wide range of wheeled armoured vehicles and mine-protected vehicles and supplies South Africa and other African and overseas defence markets. The company's offices and plant are situated in Benoni, Gauteng.
Alvis OMC currently supports over 95% of the SA Army's armoured vehicle capability, including: Olifant MBT, Rooikat AFV, Ratel ICV, and Casspir, Mamba, Okapi and Mfezi MPVs. The company maintains facilities and capabilities for the maintenance, repair, upgrade and logistic support of all of these vehicles, which includes the provision of support teams when required at bases where such vehicles are deployed.
Alvis OMC is a division of Alvis South Africa, which is a subsidiary of Alvis plc (United Kingdom). Alvis plc holds a 75% share of Alvis South Africa, the remaining 25% being held by DGD Technologies (2001) (Pty) Ltd, a South African company. Alvis South Africa has two divisions, Alvis OMC and Alvis Gear Ratio. The latter is a specialist manufacturer of transmission systems and components to local and overseas OEMs. It is situated in Alrode, Alberton.
Other businesses in the Alvis Group include Alvis Vickers and Alvis Bridging in the UK and Alvis Hägglunds in Sweden.
Alvis plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is one of the leading companies in the world in the design development and production of armoured fighting vehicles and military land systems. The Alvis Group employs 2500 personnel and its turnover in 2003 was £349 million.
Ummm....we're already there.
