A firm which which manufactures and supplies body armour for military personnel and police forces across the world has secured a deal to supply the Greek police worth more than £1.2million.

Tiptree-based VestGuard UK’s commercial director Oliver Lincoln said the company was “absolutely thrilled” to have completed the order with the Greek police, at a time when the equipment will really make a difference in the country.

“This project has shown that ‘Made in the UK’ and British engineering still has a high value in the world and should give other local British manufacturers hope in this economic recession that our skills and expertise are clearly valued in high-technology industries,” he said.

Mr Lincoln, who flew out to Athens to win and sign the contract, stressed that landing the deal was not easy and competition was tough at the moment.

“Staying ahead of the rest of the world is what is important. This is a serious life-saving business, which requires serious investment, research and development,” he said.

“We do not hold the world’s lightest solutions out of pure luck, but from hard work. It is deals such as this one that help us to see this hard work pay off and credit must be given to my colleagues in Tiptree who work tirelessly to ensure we remain innovative and competitive, which is by no means easy. Perhaps the local jam is giving us the cutting edge.”

The company recently announced its latest futuristic hard armour plate, the MAX-4 plate, which saves soldiers up to 30% on their current burden.