Supreme contracted for armored vehicles

GOSHEN, Ind., Oct. 8 (UPI) -- The U.S. State Department announced it has contracted Indiana-based Supreme Industries Inc. for several hundred armored secure vehicles.

Supreme Industries is a manufacturer of specialized commercial vehicles, including truck bodies, armored vehicles and luxury motorcoaches among others. The company's subsidiary, Supreme Corp. of Texas, which operates out of Cleburne, Texas, was contracted for an initial $500,000 armored vehicle order. Company officials say if all options are exercised the contract will be worth $100 million for up to 800 armored secure vehicles.

“Supreme Texas began building armored vehicles specifically for the cash-in-transit industry in 1997 and has since become one of the largest United States manufacturers of armored vehicles," said President and Chief Operating Officer Robert W. Wilson, in a statement. "The addition of specialty, highly armored units was a natural extension of this product line. Moreover, this market segment aligns well with Supreme’s long-term strategy of providing customers with vehicles containing more value-added components.”

One of a select few federally approved armored vehicle suppliers, Supreme Industries sells directly to the U.S. government. Deliveries of the armored vehicles are scheduled to commence in March 2008.