Ammunition Containers Press Work

Permoid Industries was originally formed in London to produce tin plate canisters in support of the Ministry of Defence. The business through time has supported the MOD in excess of 80 years, with the past 70 years being based at the current site at Newton Aycliffe, County Durham. Permoid Industries Limited was incorporated in Great Britain on March 1st, 1985 by the current management for the purpose of taking over the assets of Permoid Limited. The business was transferred by a sale agreement in April 1985.

Permoid Industries Ltd is based on a 6.5 acre freehold site on the Aycliffe Business Park in Co. Durham. Manufacturing takes place within 80,000 sq. ft. and is split between two separate factory units of 40,000 sq. ft. each. Planning permission has been granted to build a further factory unit of 60,000 sq. ft and a 20,000 sq. ft. extension to an existing building.

The principal reason for relocating the business to the Northeast of England in 1942 was to support the various Royal Ordnance sites that produced munitions within that area. The Royal Ordnance site at Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, was a filling plant and supported the production of .303 cartridges in: Ball Mk 7 and 8Z, Blank L Mk 5, Incendiary B Mk 6, B Mk 6Z, B Mk 7 and B Mk 7Z.

Permoid Industries Ltd produces tin canisters in a range of sizes for the manufacture of smoke grenades and similar associated assemblies. A range of contact mechanisms were also supplied to be used in conjunction with the canisters.To further complement the smoke bomb canisters, grenade striker mechanisms can also be produced, including all the pressed metal parts as well as the springs and mechanism assemblies.

Permoid Industries also produces a wide range of ammunition containers which are manufactured to suit a large variation of ammunition which includes belted ammunition, cartridge, mortar and shell munitions.

The steel packaging produced by Permoid Industries Ltd also covers mortar bomb container development. Permoid Industries worked alongside the MoD in development of the steel packaging which resulted in the adaptation of the standard mortar bomb box into an extended packaging box for use with illuminated mortars.

The MoD has been supported by Permoid Industries in the manufacture and supply of the standard unit load container which is used to store and transport both the 155mm charge and stores. Machinery to manufacture the heavy steel spiral tubes that are used to house the shell is held on site including the required press and pierce tools.

Permoid Industries Ltd was asked by an overseas defence procurement department to look at the development of a storage and transportation container for 155mm munitions. The brief was to have a self-contained unit to include the shells, charges and fuses. Since the storage unit was to be used in tropical climates the unit also had to be insulated with the ability to vent the container. The unit was based on a steel frame which included standard shipping container corner castings to enable safe loading and shipment via road vehicle. All the panels were fully insulated in order to maintain the container at a stable temperature. The side panels of the unit load container were designed with vent doors that open to allow air to circulate should the internal temperature need to be regulated.

The CAD system we use gives us the ability to reverse engineer old designs to enable up to date drawings to be produced. A typical example of this work is the requirement for the C19 box to be re-drawn. The company was able to do this by reverse engineering the box as a 3D cad model. We were then able to produce piece part drawings for each individual item that makes up the box assembly. This same format of reverse engineering can be used for all aspects of remedial engineering through to new development work.

Permoid Industries Ltd worked alongside Lockheed Martin and Engineered Plastic Designs in support of the Hellfire and Longbow missile containers. These containers were manufactured from aluminium and included specialised internal furniture to suit the different missile types. A total of 2351 containers were supplied in support of the UK Military in association with the purchase of Apache Helicopters.

An aluminium propellant storage container was designed and manufactured in support of the UK MoD through BAE Systems. The container is a hermetically sealed unit with specialised sealed cover plate. The main storage container body was manufactured from aluminium. The lid assembly was a stainless steel pressing with a robust and innovative clamping mechanism to secure it to the body section.

Other projects worked on include a container used for chaff shells storage on board naval vessels. This container is a lightweight steel tube rolled and seam welded. Strengthening ribs are roll formed into the side walls of the container along with a seal cap.

A similar variant was proposed for Rhienmetall Nitrochemie as a packaging solution to storing modular propellant charges. 
The storage container uses an internal cardboard sleeve to cushion the charge against the walls of the container. The lid assembly is locked in place with a gasket seal to ensure the packaging is hermetically sealed.

Once packed the charge tubes can be stacked and strapped onto timber transport frames. Self-locating dimples pressed into the support frame collars ensure accurate placement of the assemblies.

In support of the French military Permoid Industries Ltd developed a variant of the A480 ammunition container for specific use within the French armed forces. This variant known as the PMD480 was a further development of the standard box to increase its capacity in order to adapt it to carry other munitions. Again, as with the other specialised container development, a close working relationship was the key to the successful development and manufacture of the container for the French military.

In all the above cases Permoid Industries Ltd is able to manage the design and development through the use of its own in house design department backed up with years of experience and in depth knowledge of our customer’s requirements.

A comprehensive range of tooling, equipment and processes such as a wide range of jointing methods including riveting, welding and soldering enables the company to manufacture its products fully in house with only raw materials input. Bracket work such as levers, toggle clamps and handles are all manufactured in house allowing for the full management and control of all manufacturing processes. The company’s own toolroom and press shop allows for bespoke designs to be created and produced in low volume to enable cost effective development.

Permoid Industries Ltd are one of the last few remaining production facilities left within the UK who are able to control all the manufacturing processes in house for military packaging dealing only with raw material suppliers.