Armor Forensics (the former Lightning Powder Company Inc.), part of Armor Holdings, Inc., was purchased by BAE Systems based in the UK in a deal that closed on July 31, 2007. As of August 1, 2007, BAE Systems suspended all business relationships with international distributors of the former Armor Holdings Inc. That means that we can no longer source products from Armor Forensics on your behalf. This action was taken without any prior consultation or notice. Here's what has been officially communicated to us in a letter dated August 3, 2007:
"Until BAE Systems has conducted a full review of the relationship between you/your company and the newly acquired Armor Holdings business, please stop immediately any activity you may be conducting on behalf of any former Armor Holdings business. Please note that this letter serves as official notice that you are no longer authorized to work on behalf of any former Armor Holdings business. We hope to be in contact with you soon to discuss a potential future relationship with you/your company that will be entered into pursuant to BAE Systems policies and procedures."
This action affects all other suppliers of Armor products in Canada as well. We've been told by officials at the former Armor Holdings that they have over 1,000 international distributors , and that they cannot give us any indication as to when we will be contacted, or how long this new process will take before we can again begin to source products from them. This could take months, or over a year.
We are doing our best to ensure that there is as little interruption in the supply of products to you, our customers, during this period. Here are a number of things that we are doing to minimize any inconvenience to you:
- We still have many Armor products in our warehouse, and will continue to supply these to you as required.
- We are pleased to be able to offer you the same products, or comparable products from other manufacturers and suppliers, such as Lynn Peavey, Tri-Tech and Sirchie.
- We have negotiated directly with a number of manufacturers such as Remco, Labino, Independent Forensics and others to purchase directly from them.
- We continue to expand our own range of branded and unique products to better serve you.
- We encourage you to continue to order the Armor products you prefer. We will contact you if we are not able to offer exactly the same product you requested. All of the Armor products will remain on our website.
- In some cases, we may have to charge you more, but in many cases you will see lower prices as a result of our dealing directly with more manufacturers. We will do our best to ensure that any price increases are kept to a minimum.
We regret that BAE Systems has decided to take this course of action, denying law enforcement agencies in Canada access to many of the tools they have come to rely on, and prefer. We will continue to do our best to meet your needs, and provide you with the products and services you need.
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