Alexium wins US military work

Specialist materials technology company Alexium International Group has been selected to develop fire-retardant products for the US Department of Defense.

The DoD will fund the final stages of development of Alexium’s flame-retardant (FR) fabric through an unnamed prime contractor, before the fabric is used in field trials on US Army uniforms.

“This funded effort is the final stage before moving to large-scale field wear trials where complete Alexiflam FR uniforms provided by the prime contractor will be worn by US Army soldiers in real-world military situations to verify comfort and performance,” Alexium said in a statement.

Work the final stages of development has already begun, and is expected to be completed in the first half of next year.

Alexium president Dirk Van Hyning said the company’s selection by the DoD put it in the position of being a sub-contractor in a major military program.

Alexium also said it had Alexiflam-treated military uniforms pass an ‘extremely’ demanding ‘Pyroman’ test at North Carolina State University as part of an agreement with a second prime contractor.

“The results of the Pyroman tests, which are the ultimate flame-retardant test of a uniform, show that their Alexiflam-treated fabrics perform to ‘NFPA 2112 standards’, one of the most difficult flame-retardant standards to pass and a critical requirement for a military placement,” it said.

Led by chairman Gavin Rezos, Alexium has been one of the best-performing WA stocks on the ASX over the past year.

Alexium shares were 11.1 per cent higher to $1.04 each at midday.