KDH Defense Systems, Inc. (KDH), a leading manufacturer of American-made custom body armor solutions for military, law enforcement, federal agencies and corrections, announced that its distribution partner, Galls, LLC (Galls), a world leader in distributing law enforcement and public safety equipment, has been awarded a contract by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) to provide KDH's Level II and IIIA concealable body armor and polyethylene special threat plates for LAPD's law enforcement officers.
The award is a multi-year contract and is the first time that LAPD has issued a solicitation for body armor based on the new NIJ Standard-0101.06.
"This was a department-wide solicitation by the LAPD for concealable ballistic armor and polyethylene special threat plates to be worn while on patrol," said Paul Larkin, National Sales Director for KDH.
"LAPD's criteria was extremely specific to performance against special threat ammunition testing and verification of areal density weight requirements. All of the ballistic testing and verification was conducted at an NIJ approved ballistic laboratory. In addition, an officer wear test was conducted which included both male and female officers in Level II and Level IIIA armor over a thirty-day period.
Following this testing, the LAPD announced on April 3, 2013, that KDH Defense Systems was the only body armor manufacturer who met the LAPD's specifications."
Dave Herbener , Chief Executive Officer for KDH commented, "One of the key factors we believe resulted in this award was the proven performance of KDH's advanced LTST and LTSTF special threat series ballistic systems, as these were specifically identified by LAPD as meeting their rigid specifications.
"This award, by the third largest law enforcement agency in the United States, underscores KDH's commitment to developing and providing the very best in life-saving ballistic protection while simultaneously allowing for officer comfort, mobility, functionality and operational performance.
"We are pleased that Galls has been selected by the LAPD as their trusted supplier of concealable body armor and we appreciate the confidence they have shown in KDH's life saving products. We encourage other U.S. law enforcement agencies interested in benefitting from the extensive and proven LAPD protocol test to contact KDH today."
ABOUT KDH DEFENSE SYSTEMS, INC.
KDH Defense Systems, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of American-made custom body armor solutions for military, law enforcement, federal agencies and corrections. Headquartered in Eden, North Carolina, a region with a rich history in the U.S. textile industry, KDH Defense Systems' ISO 9001 certified manufacturing facility currently consists of 139,000 square feet of armor cutting, sewing and ballistic design operations, as well as product development, sales and administration.
