Blast-off for global success

10 December 2007 – UK Trade & Investment

When Pan Am Flight 103 went down over Lockerbie, it spurred the British Government, together with the Federal Aviation Authority, to see if technology could be developed that could withstand an explosion in flight. The project had already made some progress, when political changes meant it was halted.

"Elsewhere, we have a multi-million dollar contract with a European security force for the supply of unique munitions storage systems that enables grenades to be transported in a ready-to-use state."
Eamonn Cooney
Equity partner and senior advisor
Aigis Blast Protection

The founders of Aigis Blast Protection had been a part of this project, and they believed that the right technology could and should be developed, so they decided to continue their work in a private capacity, forming the research and development company, Aigis Ltd.

Over the following years, Aigis spent a great deal of time and money to develop and perfect a unique materials system that would ‘absorb’ or contain an explosion or bomb blast.

Ahead of the times

In October 2000 Aigis was ready to move from the R&D phase of its history to start commercialising the technology globally. They incorporated a new company, which in 2006 changed its name to Aigis Blast Protection.

“In many ways, we have often been ahead of our times,” says Eamonn Cooney, an equity partner and senior advisor for Aigis Blast Protection in the United States. Previously the UK CEO, he then headed up the opening of the company’s US entity. “We now have three primary product areas, bomb threat containment units; building protection; and vehicle protection. And in the last year or so have been marketing them to expand our global client base.”

Given the times and their reputation for having products that did everything they claimed to do, Aigis has been building up its global business with major, key clients. “As an example, today we’ve sold around 50 threat containment units to more than 30 airports across the world and we are continuing to sell more,” says Cooney. “Elsewhere, we have a multi-million dollar contract with a European security force for the supply of unique munitions storage systems that enables grenades to be transported in a ready-to-use state.”

But despite having a truly global client base, Aigis was still a typical SME company based in Derby, in the UK, and it needed to help raise its profile and get access to the US market. “No other company has our broad range of products,” says Mr Cooney.

“In the years after 9/11, we could see how much Homeland Security would be a big issue for the US, so we decided in 2004 to start to try to establish our market presence there.”
Cooney’s first steps were to get in touch with the relevant British Embassy staff in the US in 2003, who introduced him to Ms Terry Shear and UK Trade & Investment.

“Terry arranged for us to take part in a very good ‘invitation only’ joint US and UK Homeland Security forum,” says Cooney. “Aigis only had a couple of agents in the US at that point, so Terry and her team became a good source of contacts and guidance for us, advising in those early, cost-conscious days which events or meetings we needed to travel to the US for.’’

“UK Trade & Investment also kept us in the loop about relevant procurement contracts or other business news that related to Aigis.”
“An invaluable resource”

In 2004, Cooney relocated back to the US to open Aigis’ US office and develop the business further, and he continued to liaise with UK Trade & Investment.

Later that same year, Aigis closed its first major deal with a US customer, providing its larger bomb threat containment equipment for the Los Angeles World Airport Group.

This was followed by one of Aigis’ largest orders to date, to provide multiple bomb threat containment units to seven major international airports. The company then went through a period of investment and change, where it closed a multi-million dollar investment round to support future global expansion, and took on a new UK Group CEO in 2006.

“Terry Shear, UK Trade & Investment and the Embassy have been great in all the years I have dealt with them,” says Cooney. “They are an invaluable resource and support, especially if you are an SME - or even a larger company - trying to break into the US market, where you really need to be focused and disciplined.”

In 2007 Aigis closed another major deal with the two main airports in Houston, who were the first airports in the world to buy Aigis’s newest bomb threat containment units for passenger hand baggage screening points. Other airports in Europe and Asia have since followed suit.
For the future, the company is continuing to promote its threat containment units within the US, and is also developing vehicle protection technology that could open up whole new vistas for Aigis.

“If you are an SME, it’s essential to contact the relevant people at UK Trade & Investment and the Embassy,” says Cooney. “As well as helping with contacts and information, UK Trade & Investment can also help you to really focus your efforts on the opportunities that have the best chance of paying off. It takes a long time to close a deal, and it would be foolish to try to go it alone when there is all that help available.”