Demand drives Ladson business to boost output

Ladson-based Force Protection Inc. plans to double production of its Buffalo and Cougar armored vehicles due to increased customer demand. The company also will become a 500-employee firm next week, a major milestone: On Jan. 1, 2004, the company had 12 employees.

The company produces one Buffalo model a week, which it will double to two, said vice president Mike Aldrich. Production of its Cougar model will double from 20 vehicles a month to about 40, he said.

“It could triple by the end of the year,” Aldrich said Tuesday.

Force Protection’s Buffalo and Cougar armored vehicles have been deployed in hot spots around the world since July 2003. The vehicles are operated by combat engineers and explosive ordnance disposal teams, and are used in detection and removal of explosive devices.

The company has just passed the three-year mark with no fatalities in any of its vehicles, Aldrich said. More than 200 Buffalo and Cougar vehicles are deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As Force Protection completes oc- cupation of its expanded, 340,000-square-foot Ladson facility, the company will hire its 500th staff member next week, Aldrich said. In less than three years the company’s staff has grown by more than 4,000 percent.

“Our customers in uniform recognize the unmatched protection our vehicles provide and continue to order them at an unprecedented rate,” said Gordon McGilton, the company’s chief executive officer, in a prepared statement.