Following the decision by Air Services Australia in 2010 to use Bristol’s firefighter PPE, the company has once again been chosen to manufacture new firefighter kit for the Australian market – this time for the Australian Defence Force (ADF).
At a recent handover ceremony at Victoria Barracks, Melbourne, the ADF received their 1200 sets of Bristol’s fire coats and trousers, a design similar to their Ergotech Action2, for the Army, Air Force and Navy. Using an outershell and thermal liner from Australian manufacturer the Bruck Group, the outershell uses their Melba Fortress 3G fabric with a thermal liner of Melba Insul-tex ProPlus quilted to Dupont Sontara. This is combined with a Goretex Fireblocker moisture barrier.
The international reputation of Bristol’s manufacturing quality was key to the ADF’s decision to have the PPE made in the UK and shipped to the other side of the world, using UK and Australian made fabrics to produce a truly international combination built around Bristol’s award winning Ergotech Action design*.
The event was attended by representatives of the Australian Defence Force; GM Bruck Textiles Australia and PAC Fire, Bristol’s distributor in Australia. Representing the ADF’s Defence Material Organisation (DMO) were Colonel Haydn Kohl; Greg Hayes; Helen Millet, ADF National Fleet Manager and Karl Meadows, ADF Program Sustainment Manager. Darren O’Loughlin from GM Bruck Textiles Australia was also present as was George Stojcevski, PAC Fire’s Victorian State Manager, who was on hand to represent his company and Bristol Uniforms.
Commenting on their success, Keith Ward, PAC Fire Australia’s managing director observed, “We continue to be pleased with the results we are achieving in the Australian firefighter PPE market since we agreed to join forces with Bristol back in 2008. Bristol’s international reputation for innovation, design and manufacturing quality has once again proved that, combined with our reputation for market knowledge and customer service, we can form a winning partnership when it comes to securing major contracts of national significance”.
Bristol’s International Sales Manager, Paul Gibson, added, “This is a major success for both our companies and provides the return on investment which we continue to make, and care we take, in selecting and appointing our overseas distributors. PAC Fire has clearly demonstrated that the work we put in together to ensure major users receive a combination of world class products and first class support and service is essential to unlocking major contracts. Our earlier success in securing the world wide protective garment requirements of the UK’s MOD DFRMO firefighters has enabled us to demonstrate our ability to meet the demanding standards required by the military. It has secured us PPE business not only in Australia but in other areas of the word including Scandinavia, the Gulf States and South America”.
