Stockport-based bridge maker WFEL has boosted the British defence industry by securing a £37m contract with the Swiss military.
The order will result in the 100-year-old company supplying its “dry support bridge” (DSB) to Armasuisse for use in training exercises and infrastructure support until 2016.
WFEL’s bridges, which are designed and manufactured in the UK, are used to help military and emergency services cross areas where bridges have been destroyed or areas rendered impassable by natural disasters.
DSBs can be deployed by just eight soldiers and a single launch vehicle in under 90 minutes and can bridge a gap of up to 46 metres.
More than 100 have been sold to the US, Turkish and Swiss armies. DSBs are currently being used in Iraq to help with the rebuilding of Baghdad.
