Styling & Performance - June 2008 - (Page 19)

consider driving these rough and tough vehicles. But a new breed found them ideal for traversing trails and so these military vehicles eventually helped spawn the offroad craze for serious enthusiasts and a zillion wannabes. How else do you explain a $120,000 Hummer that “off-roads” from the driveway to the freeway? Today, in Iraq, Afghanistan and other “theaters of operation,” the danger’s all too real and deadly. With IEDs (improvised explosive devices) seemingly at every turn, soldiers risk life and limb every time they drive. The best way to make the vehicles better was through the public sector, i.e., the off-road manufacturers who have spent millions of dollars on R&D over the years improving the durability, safety and comfort of these technologically advanced machines. “We had our lights on a military Humvee that was hit by an IED,” DeHaas says. “Luckily nobody was hurt, but the Humvee was completely destroyed. However, three of the four KCs were still burning. The one light that wasn’t working was because the wires were severed. I have these lights sitting in my ofﬁce … pretty exciting to hear that our lights had a 75 percent survival rating!” of Rod Hall Racing says, “We do work for the military but can’t talk about it. It’s a secret but not a secret. We just want to sneak around and do our business.” FIRST CONTACT The ﬁrst question everyone asks companies with military contracts is, “How the heck did you get them?” Step one is contact, and even though there are military Websites such as www.defenselink.mil and www.dla.mil that have info on defense jobs, most off-road companies say the military contacted them ﬁrst or they knew someone who knew someone. change a 162-pound Humvee tire. “They put out a survey on the Internet regarding what they needed,” Mueller says. “We had competition.” KC’s DeHaas says they contacted the Army directly. “Charles Van Rooyen, our international sales and marketing manager, spends 10 months a year in Iraq calling on and working directly with the individual battalions,” he says. “It’s been a year of working with the battalions before we were able to get our ﬁ rst order, so it’s been expensive getting that ﬁ rst order.” TESTING, TESTING, TESTING Once engaged by the military, the real battle begins: proving your product is combat-worthy. For some, the product doesn’t need a lot of modiﬁcation. David Burton, HPC vice president of technology, says the coatings HPC provides the military are very similar to the ones used by the general public, yet there is a key difference. “More technical data is required for government work and traceability of products.,” Burton says. “The products used are mainly for corrosion protection, whether by thermal or chemical attack to the substrate. Some coatings are speciﬁc for advancing the position of the military in countermeasures. Qualiﬁcations testing to validate the claims of the coating were supplied to outside thirdparty test labs. Functionality is critical and what they measure against.” The heat sinks DeJong supplies don’t need a lot of work or extra testing. Same goes for Ironclad gloves. Chris Miller, director of marketing for Ironclad, echoes this point. “[The products] are available at a wide array of PX and other on-base locations and are often purchased individually from our regular dealer network by members of all the branches of service,” Miller says. “Restrictions, both formal and informal, regarding the material origin of government purchases, have played a part in the scope of our sales to the military.” June/July 2008 War is hell, but the automotive aftermarket has been a resource in supplying our troops with sturdy, safety-tested products. THE FEW, THE PROUD KC sells lights to the Army. So does Lightforce USA, which also has a contract with the Navy. Rhino Industries has a deal with TACOM (U.S. Army’s Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command) for its Rhino Lift tire lift. Ironclad is the ofﬁcial glove of Army’s “Best Ranger Competition.” The Army and Marines look to MasterCraft for seats and restraints. DeJong Sand Cars provides heat sinks for Hummers … but has no idea for what military branch – they’re a subcontractor. HPC markets its coating to defense contractors on speciﬁc platforms. But wait, there’s more. Companies such as Pull-Pal, Wide Open Baja and Fox do business with the military but keep things on the QT because of NDAs (non-disclosure agreements). Or as good old Rod Hall “We were approached by a military engineer who knew about us,” says Robbie Pierce, CEO of MasterCraft. “They wanted special seats and restraints that could contain soldiers though a blast and divert the energy of the blast. They wanted better survivability. That was our challenge, our job.” Brian Gearhart, national sales manager of Lightforce USA’s sporting light and military divisions, says he was contacted by a third party to show off the company’s driving lights and hand-held spotlights. Vince DeJong of DeJong Sand Cars said a guy “stumbled across us.” Dave Mueller, president of Rhino Lift, says the Army contacted his company and four others for a product that would help “5th percentile female soldiers” (5-foot, 1-inch, 100 lbs) I stylingperformance.com 19 http://stylingperformance.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Styling & Performance - June 2008

Styling & Performance - June 2008 Contents Soapbox Buzz Making Money with 1967-72 Chevrolet/GMC Trucks, Part II Red, White, Blue... & Green Limiting Installation Liability The House That Jack Built MAP vs. MVP Pricing Supply Line Distributor Directory

Styling & Performance - June 2008

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