Avon Rubber’s partnership with the Ministry of Defence is one example of a great success story between British Industry and UK defence procurement in supplying the ‘Best level of Protection’ to our troops worldwide. It is for this reason that on Wednesday 24 February, Melksham based Avon Protection, a part of Avon Rubber p.l.c., will present its one millionth S10 Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear (CBRN) mask to General Sir Kevin O’Donoghue, Defence Equipment and Support’s Chief of Defence Materiel. The award represents a significant milestone for Avon, who continue to be a major employer in Melksham, and marks a long and trusted relationship between the two parties going back some 90 years. 

“We are delighted and honoured to be able to welcome Sir Kevin to our plant here in Melksham”, says Rt Hon Sir Richard Needham Chairman of Avon Rubber p.l.c. “Sir Kevin’s visit is in recognition of the major part Avon and its employees play in protecting the UK’s soldiers against the historical, current and future CBRN threat, and goes to prove how highly thought of and reliable Avon’s respirators really are in the heat of battle. We hope that Sir Kevin enjoys his visit, and look forward to supporting the MoD for many years to come.”   

Since the market leading, standard setting, S10’s introduction to the marketplace over 20 years ago, the US Department of Defence (DoD) has since awarded Avon Protection in Melksham with the $100 million Joint Service General Purpose Mask (JSGPM) contract to build and supply the next generation of respiratory protection. The results of this are a range of respiratory solutions that not only meet the threats faced by today’s warfighters and security personnel, but also offer the highest levels of protection and comfort of any competitive mask.

As an organisation, Avon Protection has a very strong heritage in the research, development and manufacture of respirators built up since the 1920s. Alongside this, here in Melksham Avon employs some of the leading minds in the CBRN marketplace, including the likes of Dr Andy Capon, Vice President of the International Society for Respiratory Protection. It is this combination that has secured Avon’s position as the world leader in the design, development and manufacture of specialist and general purpose personal respiratory protection solutions for a range of CBRN applications. It is also the reason why Avon has been, and continues to be, a key supplier to the UK Ministry of Defence for over 90 years.

For further information about this and other key Avon respiratory solutions, please visit www.avon-protection.com.