Armoured One manufactures glass designed to slow down shooters attacking schools
Armoured One has announced that it is planning a USD 5.4 million renovation in a move to expand production of security glass – a combination of safety glass and film designed to slow individuals trying to shoot their way through school entrances.
Armoured One LLC, a manufacturer of glass designed to slow down shooters attacking schools, has announced that it is planning a USD 5.4 million renovation it says will lead to the creation of 70 jobs over the next five years.
According to the company, renovations to its facility will allow it to expand production of security glass – a combination of safety glass and film designed to slow individuals trying to shoot their way through school entrances.
Co-founder and CEO Tom Czyz said the company employs 27 people and expects to hire another 70 over the next five years.
The company has applied to the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency for USD 660,216 in tax exemptions for the project. The exemptions consist of USD 428,400 in sales taxes on construction materials, USD 205,566 in property taxes over 10 years and USD 26,250 in state mortgage recording tax.
Armoured One would pay a USD 54,550 project fee to the agency if the exemptions are approved.
Czyz, a former Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office detective and SWAT team member, and his business partner, Tino Amodei, founded Armoured One following the December 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in which 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 20 first-graders and six staff members.
Czyz said the renovations will allow the company to increase production of its security glass.
In addition to selling the glass, the company provides security assessments and conducts active shooter training exercises at schools.
Czyz said business has been growing rapidly. The company generated USD 1 million in sales last year and expects to have USD 10 million in sales this year, he said.
The company’s glass is produced by Syracuse Glass Co., with special film provided by Armoured One sandwiched between two pieces of safety glass. Armoured One completes the production by applying another layer of film to the outside of the glass at its facility on North Midler Avenue.
Bullets will penetrate the company’s glass, but Czyz said it would take a lot of shots to allow someone to break through. In the time it would take for that to happen, the hope is that police would have arrived to engage the shooter, he said.