SupaShock has opened a new headquarters and manufacturing facility, adjacent to minority shareholder Rheinmetall Defence Australia’s facility at Holden Hill in Adelaide.
The new facility was opened by South Australian Premier Steven Marshall, and the event was attended by Minister for Trade Senator Simon Birmingham, Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price, South Australian Senator David Fawcett, as well as Deputy Secretary CASG Tony Fraser, Head Land Systems MAJGEN Andrew Bottrell, and Head Armoured Vehicle Systems MAJGEN David Coghlan.
From industry, Rheinmetall AG Global CEO Mr Armin Papperger, Global Head of Vehicle Systems Mr Ben Hudson and Rheinmetall Defence Australia Managing Director Gary Stewart attended the event, as did SupaShock Managing Director Oscar Fiorinotto and Chairman and former Chief of Defence Force Sir Angus Houston.
The facility will be the new location for SupaShock’s manufacturing of suspension components for motorsport, armoured vehicles and autonomous vehicles, many of which are to be used on the Australian Army’s LAND 400 Phase 2 Boxer CRV and that vehicle’s wider global supply chain, and are planned for Rheinmetall’s Lynx Phase 3 contender.
“SupaShock has historically achieved significant growth, which has required careful management, and our five-year horizon sees this growth continuing which is one of the key reasons for us establishing our new facility and headquarters at Holden Hill,” Mr Fiorinotto said in a statement. “Our projections for growth over the next five years will see us increasing our current employee number of 46 FTE to more than 100 staff.
“A lot of defence hardware today is still running more traditional technology,” he added. “But we have focused on mobility, reliability, reducing maintenance costs and, most importantly, survivability. That gives us an edge. Giving the commander an advantage in the battlefield is important.”