Hexonia GmbH will supply the new combat helmet for the German armed forces. This week the company received the contract award from Bw Bekleidungsmanagement GmbH (BwBM), as it announced on Wednesday. Thus the Bundeswehr will obtain from Hexonia a combat helmet that is not only advanced and needs-based but also produced exclusively in-house, at the company’s site in Nettetal and at the NFM Group site in Lębork (Poland).
In 2020, Hexonia began developing combat helmets; since 2022, the company has equipped the German special forces (KSK) with the Special Forces helmet system. With the development expertise of the past years and extensive investments in the latest manufacturing technologies, the Nettetal-based mid-sized company has now succeeded in developing a modern helmet that is tailored to the current needs and the Bundeswehr’s specifications, according to the press release.
Low weight, high wearing comfort
The helmet, made from ultralight high-strength polyethylene, offers ballistic protection against shrapnel and pistol ammunition. The low weight of its shell, together with interior outfitting that can be individually adjusted by the user with pads, cushioning, headband, and chin strap, provides high wearing comfort and ensures a stable fit even when additional equipment is deployed. Hexonia supplies the helmet in High Cut and Low Cut variants.
“To perform in a tender of this scale against strong competitors on the market is a major success for all of us,” said Dennis Rechenberger, Director of Business Development at Hexonia. “We are especially proud that in the awarding process the user rating had a decisive influence. This reinforces our commitment to be close to the customer and to make suitable solutions available.”
Hexonia relies on value creation domestically and partners in Europe
Sabine Albert, managing director of Hexonia GmbH, emphasized: “For us as a company, but also for the economic hub, the contract has enormous significance. It enables us to continue investing extensively in our own facilities and resources. By carrying out a large part of the production and all maintenance at our Nettetal site, we maintain and create secure jobs and contribute to ensuring that the defense investments of the German federal government stay as domestic value creation.”
The merger with the NFM Group in 2022 and thus access to a Europe-wide production network enables the Lower Rhine company, according to its own statements, to perform the value creation largely within the group and in Germany during helmet production. “We see the award for this significant helmet tender in Germany as a confirmation of our daily work, which is characterized by intensive cross-border collaboration within the NFM Group,” said Nils Toverud, Deputy CEO of the NFM Group.
