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September 08, 2005
Protective Products International Reaffirms Confidence in Safety of Its Body Armor Products
Suspension of Production of any Vests Containing Zylon® Initiated in 2003 Extended Indefinitely Due to Change in NIJ Standards
Extends Initial Program for Vest Exchange Program for Customers Who Purchased Zylon® Vests
Sunrise, FL - Protective Products, a leading manufacturer of security products including body armor for the law-enforcement, military, homeland security and commercial markets, announced today that it remains fully confident in the safety and performance capabilities of its body armor products, including those that contain Zylon®, but that it is extending its decision implemented in November of 2003 to cease production of vests containing Zylon®.
The Company also reiterated its original offer made in 2003 to offer new vests providing the same level of protection as the original in exchange for the existing vests containing Zylon ® at no charge. “We publicly announced our decision to halt production of Zylon vests in 2003 when the Attorney General announced that he was initiating an investigation into the effectiveness of bullet resistant armor and he directed the National Institute of Justice to examine Zylon®. Simultaneously we offered the vest exchange program and we have had it in effect since then stated Steve Giordanella, Company Chairman and CEO. Giordanella went on to say “ given that the vests will soon be non –NIJ compliant we are now reiterating our original offer to provide replacement vests, regardless of when the Zylon® vests were purchased at no charge because we believe that under the circumstances this is the responsible thing to do.”
Protective Product’s President, Dale Baker, stated “PPI has always had officer and soldier safety at the forefront of its business decision making process and when the industry first became aware of the issues in 2003 the company decided to take action by discontinuing the manufacture of Zylon® vests. The company knew that its decision could result in it foregoing tens of millions of dollars in sales and profits, but felt obligated to adopt what it believed was the prudent and responsible course of conduct.”
Baker went on to say, “I want to be clear, there was nothing in our testing that led us to believe that Zylon® was unsafe. However, when the Attorney General of The United States and the National Institute of Justice both express ‘concerns’ about Zylon® on an issue such as in their first report in November 2003 we felt an obligation to take what we believed was an appropriate and timely course of action. Our customers need to know that we simply will not take chances with their lives and we don’t look away when a serious issue is raised.” We are pleased that after this third report by the NIJ on this subject that other companies in the industry have finally also announced some sort of voluntary exchange or partial payment program.
Steve Giordanella went on to say, “We have had a very cooperative and positive relationship with the National Institute of Justice for years and expect that we will continue to work together with them to ensure that both they and our customers have confidence in our products. It is also important that our customers, distributors, and employees know that they work for a company that does the right thing at the right time to ensure the safety of the officers, soldiers and others that use our products.”
For more information about Protective Products International's vests, please call 800.509.9111 or visit www.body-armor.com
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