Our Supply Chain

 

When I was a police officer in Norfolk, Virginia - I realized that the price of body armor put it out of most people's financial reach.  I wanted to change that.  I founded Gilliam Technical Services with the goal of providing high quality, dependable armor that is well-tested and affordable.  This means that we establish sources - not based on geographical location... but because of quality specifications and resultant performance.  We go where there is dependability in raw materials sourcing because we know how to get materials to provide life-saving performance.

Performance - proven by consistent testing, is the true indicator of quality and dependability.

Our GTS armor plates are Made in the USA from globally sourced materials. Our GTS armor plates are bonded in North Carolina, USA.  Our bonding process is unique in the industry.  We use proprietary adhesives and a GTS-specific process to bond the ceramic to itself, attach strike face and wear face treatments and fuse the ceramic to our polyethylene and composite backing materials with constant pressure.

We obtain ceramic strike face materials in monolithic and mosaic form (2" tiles).  These tiles come from many areas of the world where high quality is provided in a dependable way at a reasonable price point.  Most of the time, geographical areas are limited in the availability of certain materials.  For example, mosaic tiles are not prevalent at high purity levels in the United States, but monolithic tiles are available.  Italian sources offer both at some of the best quality in the world. Most of the ceramic powder we use (origin, raw materials source) comes from France or Australia.  Asia also offers several reputable technical ceramics processing firms at this price point.  All of our strike face ceramic must meet our materials specification - no matter where the powder is processed.

Since we obtain high-performing materials from a variety of sources, we do not typically use the term "Made in America" without qualifying the statement.  The Federal Trade Commission has published guidance regarding this phrase and we want to comply with the FTC's "all or virtually all" standard (as well as substational transformation).  As a result, we indicate that our ceramic armor plates are "Made in the USA with Globally Sourced Materials" or "Bonded in the USA."  We achieve a transformation of raw materials into a working armor system through the use of our American-made vacuum bags, commercial ovens, adhesives and various tooling.  When the strike face tile originates in America, we may state so in the product description.  Out goal is performance and reliability.  We prove that through our testing and transparency of testing results and build methods.

I am not aware of any other company that is so transparent with their testing reports - all of which are conducted at NIJ-approved labs.  Ask your manufacturer for actual copies of the reports... over a period of time (consistency) and see which companies actually provide them.

How does this compare with what other armor companies are doing? Many companies are continuing to indicate "100% Made in America" when their PE fiber originates in Asia.  This is a violation of FTC guidelines and we want to be as transparent as possible.

Ultimately, professional ballistics testing proves viability, and we perform substantial testing both in the field and through NIJ-approved labs.  Our testing data can be found here or in our main navigation menu (website) and via our social media channels. Patriotism means offering American customers the best performance for every dollar spent.

Thank you for your record support and we always remain open to suggestions, new relationships and partnerships that would benefit all of us (including you).