Protecting troops with body armor has been the mainstay for Costa Mesa-based Ceradyne Inc. for the past few years.
Like many defense contractors, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been a boon for the company.
The maker of specialty ceramics also supplies material for solar panels, jet engines and braces for teeth.
But these aren’t the kind of ceramics you play with in a school workshop,they’re made from chemicals rather than natural materials.
Capable of shattering bullets and absorbing blasts, the lightweight armor plates worn by soldiers have been credited with saving lives.
During the 1991 Gulf War, the ceramic plates were worn only by special operations forces. But in 2004 they became a standard for all ground forces serving in combat.
Demand from the military makes up nearly 80% of the company’s sales, which counts about 80% of the market for body armor.
Shares of the company have risen more than tenfold since the Iraq war began in 2003.
Ceradyne counted a recent market value of about $2 billion. In the past three years it has grown sales to $738 million for the year ended June. By 2010 it expects to grow revenue to about $1 billion.
In July, the company said it received a $78 million order from the Army for its body armor kits. Ceradyne said it expects sales of its body armor to decline in 2008 after hitting a peak this year.
One analyst noted in August that Ceradyne was poised for growth as more orders from the military are expected.
Second-quarter sales were up 14% from the prior year to $185 million.
Expanding its armor to military vehicles and planes may be the next key phase for the 40-year-old company.
Ceradyne’s latest bidding for a military contract is for an armored truck known as The Bull, which supposedly is capable of withstanding roadside bombs.
It has partnered with Wisconsin-based Oshkosh Truck Corp. and Virginia-based Ideal Innovations Inc. to develop it.
In early October they delivered two prototype vehicles for the Army to test.
The trio faces competition from Force Protection Inc., General Dynamics Corp. and Navistar International Corp.
Ceradyne employs about 1,030 people locally, and about 2,484 throughout the company. In Costa Mesa, it leases 99,000 square feet, and in Irvine it owns 40,000 square feet and also leases 76,000- and 24,000-square-foot sites.
Chief Executive Joel Moskowitz founded Ceradyne four decades ago.
In June, the company opened a 100,000-square-foot plant in China to supply material for Chinese-made silicon solar energy cells.
It has also been acquiring companies that supply it with materials.
In September, it bought Oklahoma-based EaglePicher Boron LLC for $69 million, a producer of isotopes. In July, it bought Tennessee-based Minco, for $27.5 million, which makes silica.
Last year the company partnered with Canada’s Alcan Inc. to make material for the storage of nuclear waste as it bought an 86,000-square-foot plant in Quebec.
THE NUMBERS
Three-year growth: 443%
Yearly sales through June 30: $738.3 million
Yearly profit: $151 million
Market value: $2 billion
Employees: 2,484, 1,030 in OC
Company: military, industrial ceramics maker
