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ASP Equips French Army for Olympics Security
Appleton, WI, August 5, 2024—Just weeks before the Olympic opening ceremonies, the French Ministry of Defense contacted MP-SEC—the European distributor for Armament Systems and Procedures (ASP)—with an urgent request. As part of the host country’s massive antiterrorism plans, ASP was asked if it could produce and ship over 7,000 of its tactical police batons, and an equal number of carrying scabbards, to arrive in France within around 3 weeks. ASP was able to fill the order, and play a role in keeping Olympic athletes and spectators—and those protecting them—safe.
French government and other security agencies will be on high alert before, during and after the Games. In addition to an escalated police presence, over 20,000 French Army soldiers and a comparable number of private security professionals will guard Paris, its citizens and guests. MP-SEC—which has an open contract with the Ministry of Defense—was asked if the large baton and case order could be filled on short notice, and MP-SEC got to work with ASP to make it happen.
ASP Vice President of Sales, Daryell Harmon, says that the company is ideally set up to meet urgent demands like this one. “We invest a huge amount of money in keeping substantial supplies of parts and materials on hand,” says Harmon. “This allows us to build a wide variety of products to order, often on nearly impossibly short notice.” Harmon says that ASP’s distribution relationships and international logistics capabilities are the other part of the formula. “We have a tremendous partnership with MP-SEC, and they have the facilities and resources to make sure that if we do our part and make the gear fast enough, it will get to the end users in time.”
The order for ASP Talon expandable batons and Envoy Scabbards—around 15,000 units in all—was received on June 18th, produced, packaged and shipped in under three weeks, and was in the hands of French soldiers well before the torch was lit. “Our motto is ‘Protecting Those Who Protect,’” says ASP’s Harmon, “and this is how we walk the talk.”