Bisalloy Steel Group is pleased to announce the establishment of a teaming agreement with Rheinmetall Defence Australia for the development and production of high performance armour steel for both the Commonwealth of Australia’s Land 400 Phase 2 program and other global customers for Rheinmetall’s range of protected military vehicles.

With an estimated cost of $14 to $20 billion for acquisition, Land 400 is the biggest and most expensive acquisition program in the Australian Army’s history, with Phase 2 acquiring 225 CRVs in a project that will modernise the Army’s Armoured Fighting Vehicle capability and provide mounted support to defence operations for decades to come.

Rheinmetall Defence Australia is the regional arm of Rheinmetall AG, a German publicly listed integrated technology group and market leader in the areas of environmentally friendly mobility and threat-appropriate security technology whose mission is to provide friendly forces with the best possible protection.

Representing the Rheinmetall Defence range of products and services in Australia from its current base in Melbourne, Rheinmetall Defence Australia is now engaged with Bisalloy on the development and qualification of BISALLOY® Armour steel products for use on Rheinmetall’s BOXER Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle (CRV) for Phase 2 of the Australian Army’s 4 Phase LAND 400 program.

Rheinmetall Defence Australia Managing Director Andrew Fletcher said the development project had been so successful, the BISALLOY® Armour steel will now become another Australian product in Rheinmetall’s Global Supply Chain and offered to customers in Europe, North America and Asia. He added that the company was proud to state that for the first time the steel protecting Australian soldiers would be designed, developed and manufactured.

“Bisalloy’s capabilities have not only created the best possible protection for Australian soldiers but also a significant export opportunity for this leading Australian manufacturer,” Andrew Fletcher stated. “We welcome Bisalloy to the Rheinmetall Land 400 team and we look forward to building a long term relationship that further establishes the company offshore.”

Listed on the ASX and operating for over 38 years, Bisalloy is Australia’s only manufacturer of high tensile and abrasion-resistant quenched and tempered steel plate used for armour, structural, protection and wear resistant steel applications.

Bisalloy Steel Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Greg Albert said the company had a long, collaborative association with the Australian Defence Force. Indeed, BISALLOY® Armour steel has become a leading product for defence applications in Australia and abroad and is specified for hulls in Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC), Light Armoured Vehicles (LAV), Collins Class submarines and the Bushmaster Infantry Mobility Vehicles in Australia, along with many APCs and LAVs worldwide.

“For 25 years, the Bisalloy story has been one of working in partnership with Australian steel producers, defence scientists and engineers, international organisations and manufacturers of military vessels and vehicles to produce what we believe are some of the best armour plate products in the world,” Greg Albert said.

“Bisalloy is proud to now be partnering with a globally credentialed company such as Rheinmetall and we are looking forward to working together in a long-term and mutually beneficial relationship.”

The agreement was signed recently at Bisalloy’s operations base in Unanderra, NSW, with Bisalloy joining trusted network of companies from NSW, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia as part of the Rheinmetall Land 400 Phase 2 team. These companies will deliver a range of products and services to support the manufacture of the BOXER CRV as part of Rheinmetall’s commitment to building Australian Industry Capability.

“Bisalloy has been representing the quality of Australian manufacturing and products on the world stage for decades and we are extremely pleased to be engaged in a project that does the same while also protecting Australia’s fighting forces,” Greg Albert concluded.