PRO Barrier: Protecting Our Buildings From Vehicle Attacks
PRO Barrier Engineering LLC, a homeland security products company based in Hummelstown, received BFTP 2005-2006 funds to introduce a new anti-terrorism vehicle barrier. The funds will be used to conduct full-scale crash tests to prove the barrier meets the U.S. State Department’s most stringent standard for stopping power.
“We saw promise in PRO Barrier when they entered – and eventually won – the 2004 business plan competition,” commented Liz Wilson, BFTP Communications Director. “They had a new concept for a vehicle access control barrier. such devices are widely used to protect federal buildings and military facilities. The barriers, which extend across a roadway, can be hydraulically opened to allow authorized vehicles to pass, but in their closed position they will stop and destroy an attacking vehicle.”
“Conventional barriers use massive steel plates to achieve their stopping power,” noted Dennis Owen, PRO Barrier’s Vice President. “Our design replaces those plates with a lightweight steel structure containing energy absorbing bands. This design allows us to build a less expensive and more aesthetically acceptable barrier. We even have a proprietary digital process for putting any type of finish on the barrier, such as a logo or granite, marble, or stone pattern to match a building’s façade.”
With these new finishes, PRO Barrier is targeting the emerging market to protect “soft” targets such as public buildings, sports stadiums, and certain infrastructure facilities. There is an ancillary benefit for PA, as the test will be conducted at the Pennsylvania Transportation Institute, one of the handful of sites certified by the Department for conducting such tests.
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