Avon Protection has announced that it has been awarded a 3 yearIQ (indefinite delivery indefinite quantity) contract from the US Department of Defense for the continued supply of M61 filters for use with Avon’s M50 respirator.

The maximum contract value is approximately $38 million with an initial order value of $11 million which Avon expects to fulfill in this financial year.

Commenting on the news, Peter Slabbert, Chief Executive said: “As we anticipated when investing in additional production capacity in 2010 at our Cadillac, US manufacturing base, we are seeing growing demand for consumable filters as increasing numbers of Avon mask systems are supplied and issued to the troops in the field. As the sole source supplier of this unique conformal filter, we believe this growth will continue. ”

About Avon Protection Avon Protection, an Avon Rubber p.l.c. company is a world leader in the design, development and manufacture of CBRN respiratory protection equipment. Avon has been supplying respirators to the UK Ministry of Defence and other NATO allies for over 80 years and is the sole supplier of military respirators to the US armed forces, supplying the M50 Joint Service General Purpose Mask. With new conflicts and threat scenarios creating additional daily risks for individuals in military, law enforcement, first responder and emergency service applications, Avon Protection maintains a market leading position by investing in continual research and development to meet changing operational requirements.

For more information, contact: Chris Webb, PR Manager Phone: +44 (0) 1225 896 563 Email: christopher.webb@avon-rubber.com