Force Protection, Inc. named South Carolina’s fastest-growing company in 2006

LADSON, S.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Force Protection, Inc. (OTCBB:FRPT) has been named South Carolina’s fastest-growing company in 2006 by the state’s leading accounting and business advisory firm, Elliott Davis, LLC, and by the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce.

The armored vehicle manufacturer was ranked first in the Top 25 winners who were announced Thursday (11/2) at the Chamber’s Annual Summit event in Charleston. Now in its fifth year, the South Carolina’s Fastest-Growing CompaniesSM program recognizes the private and publicly owned companies that have contributed to the state’s economy through increases in revenue and employment.

“It is an honor for Force Protection to receive this recognition,” said Force Protection COO Ray Pollard. “Since the company’s beginning in 2003, the Palmetto State has continually had the resources we’ve needed to sustain our exponential growth. Force Protection is privileged to have South Carolina as an invaluable partner as we continue to provide our troops with the highest levels of blast protection available.”

Force Protection has grown from a small start-up firm with fewer than a dozen employees in 2003 to a mainstream assembly line manufacturer with a workforce of more than 600 today. Production facilities and revenues have also expanded dramatically. The company’s Buffalo and Cougar vehicles have been used by troops in Iraq and Afghanistan for more than three years without a single fatality.

About Force Protection
Force Protection, Inc. manufactures ballistic- and mine-protected vehicles through its wholly owned subsidiary. These specialty vehicles are protected against landmines, hostile fire, and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs, commonly referred to as roadside bombs). Force Protection’s mine and ballistic protection technology is among the most advanced in the world. The vehicles are manufactured outside Charleston, S.C.

For more information on Force Protection and its vehicles, go to www.forceprotection.net.