Bullet proof jackets for dogs? Nothing is off the table when it comes to potential customers of Vikela. Although this Bangor-based producer of protective armour mostly caters toward military, police, private security and global defence sectors, that’s not where application of the technology ends. “Someone who owns a miniature dachshund asked me to design protection for their dog in case a bigger dog attacks it in the park,” Peter Gilleece, Vikela’s 28-year-old founder and chief says.
Paramedics, motorcyclists, even chefs might find a use for this technology. “Someone who worked in a butcher’s shop asked me for gloves to protect their fingers [from the chopping board]. Someone else who runs a home for the elderly enquired about the possibility of a wrist brace to protect their residents in the event of a fall.”
Like all the best innovative ideas, Peter created Vikela in order to solve a problem. A former army cadet, he had friends who joined the forces and took a military career path. They would regale him with stories of how their “armour weighed somewhere between 12kg and 15kg”.
“That is some weight when you’re going over mountains or across rough terrain with an additional 35kg on your back – a 5kg rifle and so on”. Much of this excess weight came from the bulletproof plates in their jackets, which the soldiers occasionally removed in order to increase their manoeuvrability – at the expense of their safety.
Peter established Vikela in 2020, the same year he graduated from Queen’s University Belfast. His team started out at a 1,000 sq ft site in Belfast, near the Odyssey complex, and recently moved into a 20,000 sq ft facility in Bangor. Vikela is the first business of its kind to use 3D printing to manufacture body armour and Peter has ambitions to turn it into a brand to rival Kevlar, which has an industry reputation of providing tough protection for everything from bulletproof vests to motorcycle jackets.
Kevlar has been around since the 1970s and the technology has not developed much since then, believes the Vikela founder. “Most of their products are layered with strong fabric material for low level impact. They used to use steel plates for higher damage and they are really heavy. In the 1990s they brought in ceramics which are also heavy and rigid. We went back to square one. If I was to make body armour from scratch today, what techniques would I use to allow its users to be more comfortable? That brought us on a completely different manufacturing journey using different materials.”
Alongside weight issues, existing body armour can leave the body exposed. “You hear stories that if you get shot through the side, you can get an internal ricochet where the bullet bounces between the front and the back plates. That will kill you or potentially do more damage.”
Comfort was a major part in Vikela’s initial concept. “Police officers sit in cars wearing protective jackets that are not very comfortable. A rigid plate can push up and hit you in the chin or dig into your back against the car seat.”
Why 3D printing? The process gives the manufacturer flexibility, he says. “We can derive more strength here or cut weight there according to individual sizes and needs, without having to change tooling every time.” Peter drew inspiration from his time working for Aston Martin in the new model launch department. “I was taking new models from the first builds of cars, prototype builds, through to finished products. Each of those models catered for a different market. Different people want different products and require different marketing needs”: as true for protective armour as it is for the auto industry. Peter also wanted Vikela’s products to be environmentally friendly; recyclable material is built into the design process.
Investors have taken notice. In 2022, Vikela received a £500,000 grant from Innovate UK, which Peter and his colleagues match-funded. That same year, Vikela won Invent 2022, Northern Ireland’s competition for innovative start-ups, which added another £26,000.
The £1.3m investment for the company’s new Bangor facility came from “Northern Ireland-based angels, business owners that like our ambitions and venture capital firms based out of London. We’re aiming to run cash flow positive as soon as possible and grow internally. If you want to grow fast you need extra funding. We’re weighing up different options – debt financing, equity investment – and maybe a mix [of investments] as opposed to pure equity funding or debt funding. We want to grow as quickly as possible to meet customer demand.”
Growth is a lot more feasible at Vikela’s new 20,000 sq ft facility. The headquarters will house head office operations, as well as expanded warehousing and production facilities. “The smaller office in Belfast was good for prototyping. Our initial printers were 120 kilos and were difficult to lift up the stairs but the new ones are over a tonne, so we needed more space for bigger machinery that allow us to produce at a higher level. Smaller machines have limited capacity. You need to be able to deliver decently sized orders of our product so this gives us the ability to scale up as well.”
Peter then plans to start producing the business’s inaugural product range: stab and 9mm ballistic armour (protection from knives and low-level handguns). After that they will produce a line of high-level rifle grade protection garb. Given the nature of the product there are a lot of certification processes to pass through and regulators to please, admits Peter. “I suppose that’s what happens when you have a disruptive product. It doesn’t fit the mould.”
The entrepreneur ultimately wants to move his business beyond protective clothing into arenas such as aerospace and automotive where “3D thinking” might make vehicle and craft parts “lighter or more functional”. 3D printing, the founder says, gives Vikela a freedom to reach these lofty ambitions. “As long as I have access to space, I can set up manufacturing and then quickly take it down and move it elsewhere. It’s a lot more agile than other methods of manufacture. It’s not very labour-intensive to produce more products because the machine does all the work. You monitor the printers but you don’t need to be there.”