Avon Protection Ceradyne LLC

Avon Protection Ceradyne LLC, doing business as Team Wendy Ceradyne, is a foreign-owned manufacturer of advanced protective helmets and head protection systems that operates as a prime contractor (96% of recent awards) on Department of Defense military equipment procurements, with no exposure to set-aside categories. The company, headquartered in Salem, New Hampshire, is a subsidiary of Avon Protection Systems Incorporated and competes in full-and-open competitive procurements under primary NAICS 314 (Apparel Accessories and Other Apparel Manufacturing) and PSC armor and personal equipment categories.

Avon Protection Ceradyne's federal footprint concentrates on two core products: the Next Generation Integrated Head Protection System (NG IHPS) and advanced communication helmets (ACH). Recent representative work includes a $28.8 million delivery order from the Army's Program Executive Office (PEO) Soldier for ground troop helmet production (June 2026), a $37.6 million delivery order for 21,162 NG IHPS units under the same vehicle (June 2023), a $19.5 million DLA advanced communication helmet order (July 2024), and a $17.6 million NG IHPS production delivery order through August 2027 (February 2025). The company also holds a $1.8 million Blanket Purchase Agreement with the Army Research, Development and Engineering Command for NG-IHPS systems R&D through August 2027 and a $1.25 million multiple-award Other Transaction IDV from RDECOM for integrated multi-threat headborne system helmet prototypes (September 2025).

Customer concentration is extreme: the Department of the Army Acquisition Support Center PEO Soldier accounts for 10 awards worth $1.01 billion combined potential value, and the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support Clothing and Textiles accounts for 13 awards worth $319.5 million, together representing 100% of all recent awards. Avon Protection Ceradyne holds two master indefinite delivery vehicles: a $676.2 million multiple-award IDIQ with PEO Soldier for NG IHPS production (10 task orders, $222.8 million combined potential value) and a $204.25 million single-award Indefinite Delivery Contract with DLA Troop Support through February 2027 for advanced combat and communication helmets (7 task orders, $68.1 million combined potential value). Activity has accelerated — three awards in 2022 and 2023 each, eight in 2024, five in 2025, and five in the first half of 2026. Ten awards with combined potential value $174.1 million reach ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, exposing the company to significant recompete activity on its core helmet production lines.

On subcontract work, Avon Protection Ceradyne appears in one recent award: vulnerability and ballistics research and development for soldier protection helmets under a Booz Allen Hamilton prime (September 2025). Production delivery orders routinely engage a stable subcontractor base including AbilityOne nonprofits (Visioncorps, Winston-Salem Industries For The Blind Inc./IFB Solutions, San Antonio Lighthouse For The Blind/Vibrant Works) for suspension and retention components; Granite State Plastics for injection-molded helmet skins and edge trim; Sherwin-Williams for military-grade protective coatings and CARC formulations; Avient Protective Materials LLC for ballistic materials (Dyneema HB30 and UHMWPE); and Honeywell International for Spectra Shield ballistic material. Place of performance spans Salem and Dedham, Massachusetts; Irvine and Taunton, California; and other domestic sites as task orders dictate.