Making Crime Pay Terrorism, Violence Fuel Sales Of Armored Vehicles
Terrorism and crime are a threat worldwide. In Bill O’Gara’s world, that’s good for business.
His company, O’Gara Co. made its mark fitting limousines with armor for use by U.S. presidents, Pope John Paul II and Queen Elizabeth II. Now the company is enjoying big sales growth doing the same for officials and business people in countries rife with crime because of drug wars and unstable governments.
“Our business was driven by terrorism in the 1980s, and today, we’ve seen a much greater shift to crime, particularly in places like Mexico, Brazil, the Philippines and Russia,” O’Gara said during a stroll through the company’s 130,000-square-foot plant in suburban Cincinnati.
“That’s our real growth area, people who are concerned about kidnapping and random acts of violence.”
While the company still outfits limousines, it now offers the likes of armored Jeep Cherokees and Chevrolet Suburbans, which are preferred by officials and executives who don’t want a high profile.
O’Gara’s goal is to have enough armored Suburbans - popular because they are large and powerful - ready for “walk-up” business.
“When the incident happens or a threat is identified, they want the vehicle right away,” said O’Gara, the company’s CEO. “But we haven’t gotten to that point yet - we sell out before the vehicles are through being fitted.”
The company, which turned out about 500 vehicles last year, can refit a Suburban in about 400 hours, compared with 1,400 a few years ago.
Depending on the amount of protection wanted, a vehicle can be made to withstand 9mm bullets, armor-piercing rounds, bomb blasts and land mines.
Besides putting armor inside and under the vehicle’s body, the process can include adding 3-inch-thick window glass and special hard nylon wheel rims that can be driven for up to 50 miles if the rubber tires are destroyed in an attack.
The process can add up to a ton to the weight of a vehicle and cost anywhere from $40,000 to $1 million.
But O’Gara cautions clients that the vehicles don’t make them invincible.
“One of the worst things a person can do is buy an armored vehicle and think he’s completely safe,” O’Gara said. “The armored vehicle is really buying you time to get out of a situation, because there’s really no such thing as bulletproof - it’s bullet-resistant.”
O’Gara recently bought International Training Inc. of West Point, Va., and Palmer Associates of Mexico City. The companies specialize in providing training to counter terrorism, kidnapping and other crimes. O’Gara Co. plans to open another training facility in San Antonio, Texas, this year.
“We feel there’s an opportunity to offer one-stop shopping where a customer can get an armored vehicle, driver training, security training and site protection,” O’Gara said.
The demand for the company’s products and services doesn’t surprise Sean Milinowski, director of the Office of International Criminal Justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The office is a private nonprofit organization founded by the school to study international crime and crime trends.
“If this company is not ahead of the curve, then they certainly are right on it,” he said. “Kidnapping and violence is a real concern for business people in many countries.”