Sheffield steel firm wins investment to help protect British troops

A Sheffield-based engineering firm has won investment from a consortium bidding to build the next generation of armoured personnel carriers for the British Army.

William Cook, a family-owned business, secured the investment from ARTEC, the designer of the Boxer modular vehicle which is one of the contenders for the Ministry of Defence’s Mechanised Infantry Vehicle (MIV) programme.

If the consortium is successful, Sheffield steel from William Cook will be used to protect the lives of British soldiers in conflict zones.

One of the two partners in the ARTEC consortium, the European tank builder Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), has invested in tooling at William Cook’s Sheffield and Leeds factories to strengthen its UK supply chain in advance of an order from the Ministry of Defence.

The tooling will be used to manufacture high strength steel castings which are bullet and blast proof.

KMW and Rheinmetall, the other partner of the ARTEC consortium, have invested in their UK supply chains for Boxer, which would be built in the UK.

William Cook, managing director of the group’s defence division, said: “The Boxer proposal for the MIV programme supports British manufacturing and will help to boost Britain’s export potential.

“It will create and protect skilled engineering jobs and strengthen the UK’s position in a strategic global sector.

“For decades, our company has manufactured the tracks and armour for British tanks and armoured vehicles. These advanced armoured steel castings made at our world class factories in Sheffield and Leeds will provide the very latest and best standards of protection for British soldiers.”