NP Aerospace opens London facility, appoints GM

Global armour provider NP Aerospace has opened a Centre of Excellence on Swiftsure Court and appointed Jessica Bland as general manager

GLOBAL ARMOUR PROVIDER NP Aerospace has opened a new facility in London at 24 Swiftsure Court and appointed a general manager to drive future business growth.

Jessica Bland will oversee the running of the new 10,000-square-foot manufacturing facility and will be responsible for growing the business in Canada and North America.

According to a company release, Bland has close to two decades of experience in the defence industry, working for local companies such as GDLS-C and Kongsberg Protech Systems Canada. She is also involved with industry organizations such as the Southwestern Ontario Regional Chapter, Women in Defence & Securities and the Canadian Association for Defence and Security Industries. She joined NP Aerospace to oversee business development in 2019.

“NP Aerospace Canada has grown rapidly in the last two years and it’s great to have been part of that,” said Bland. “With a new facility and an expanding portfolio of global vehicle and personal armour programs, we are set for the next phase of our business development which will see expansion into the security and law enforcement markets where NP Aerospace is seeing growth globally.”

Jointly owned by the Saskatchewan’s Pasqua First Nation and company CEO James Kempston, NP Aerospace is headquartered in Coventry, UK, and is an industry leader in the production of advanced low-weight, high performance armour systems.

NP Aerospace’s North American Centre of Excellence is located at 24 Swiftsure Court

The company has operations in the UK and Canada, manufacturing and integrating medium calibre, lightweight vehicle armour for global platform programs, as well as a full portfolio of advanced personal armour solutions. Products include lightweight ballistic helmets, body armour plates, shields and bomb disposal suits used by world leading defence and security organizations.

The new facility in London will act as NP Aerospace’s North American Centre of Excellence for vehicle armour manufacturing and survivability systems in support of existing and future customer programs.

“We are delighted to have Jessica on board driving the business in Canada and North America,” added NP Aerospace CEO, James Kempston. “She has extensive experience of complex global vehicle programs and personal armour technology requirements. As an agile SME located in London, Ontario, we can take advantage of regional defence opportunities and new global programs.”