Safety and security technology provider International Security Consulting is in high-level negotiations with large South African companies with regard to the distribution and sale of its proactive security solutions.

International Security Consulting CEO Marc Kahlberg tells Engineering News that the company aims to establish a manu- facturing facility in South Africa early next year.

The company’s products and technologies are manufactured abroad, but it aims to manu- facture and assemble its products in South Africa in order to enter the African defence and mining technology markets, he says.

“We have planned to bring this technology to the African market, as the continent suffers from high crime rates and is prone to incidents such as cash-in-transit heists and ATM bombings, which our technology can prevent,” he highlights.

The company manufactures and supplies antiballistic, -blast and -burn composite armour solutions that are lightweight and easy and fast to apply, and more cost effective than similar metal-based products.

Its ballistic mitigation products include lightweight and fast-to-assemble armoured solutions, while the blast mitigation solutions include armoured fabrics, blast panels for personnel and vehicle protection, and portable threat-isolation panel systems, as well as tents that serve dual purposes, such as blastproof and fragmentationproof solutions.

International Security Consulting exclusively distributes a blast curtain that can not only stop grenade and rocket launcher fragmentation, but also prevent debris and ore in underground mining operations from being wasted.

The specialised patented curtain has the capability to stop 90% of all blast debris after a rock face blast of up to 200 kg, says Kahlberg, adding that the solution is a significantly cost-effective solution for miners as it can save sweeping time, capture ore that would other- wise have been wasted and is an extremely flexible and lightweight product that can be carried by one person.
Kahlberg notes that the blast curtains were successfully tested at International Security Consulting’s solutions demonstration at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’s Paardefontein defence, peace and safety and security test range, in Pretoria, in June and at several mines in South Africa, including Impala Platinum’s mines in Rustenburg and mining major Anglo American Platinum’s Twickenham and Modikwe platinum mines.

Meanwhile, the company’s burn mitigation solutions include fire protection blankets and an easy-to-apply spray-on thermal protection solution that can burn at up to 1 000 ºC for up to four hours.

It also provides specialist high-technology point solutions, including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), search and rescue technology and bioscopic radar cameras, which have gained significant interest in South Africa.

In terms of antiburn, -blast and -ballistic solutions, International Security Consulting is creating a new lightweight and cost-effective solution aimed at the physical-asset protection industry. “The company is in negotiations with several of the country’s major armoured vehicle manufacturers with respect to this solution,” notes Kahlberg.

The company’s solutions are used not only to prevent crime but also to protect strategic infrastructure, such as the equipment at mines.

The company demonstrated the efficacy of its antiballistic, -blast and -burn composite armour solutions and the use of its UAV observation system and magnacamera.

Kahlberg notes that there is significant interest in its solutions in South Africa from the South African Police Service, the South African National Defence Force and security companies.

International Security Consulting plans to market itself in South Africa by attending industry-specific trade shows and conferences where either patented or patent pending technology can be showcased, concludes Kahlberg.