Taiwan's military orders armor for its vehicles from bathroom brand HCG

 

via Taiwan News

The Ministry of National Defense will spend NT$226.65 million (US$8.08 million) on armor from HCG, a manufacturer of bathroom fixtures, for its armored vehicles, reports said Tuesday (Jan. 12).

HCG, also known as Hocheng, is the only company inside Taiwan qualified to produce the required external armor for the eight-wheeled CM-34 “Clouded Leopard” Taiwan Infantry Fighting Vehicle, UDN reported.

The company should be able to supply its product to the military by Feb. 10, 2022. It has been involved in other military contracts before, mostly in how to develop the use of ceramics for bulletproof materials, according to the report.

Countless live-fire tests were conducted before HCG won approval as the only qualified supplier of the armor. Initially, the military had ordered 284 of the CM-34 vehicles but later added an additional 21.

This one caught my eye because of the "bathroom brand" thing.  Bathroom ceramics can translate into ceramics for combat vehicles?

This is why it MIGHT have been impossible to stop the rise of China once the lure of a new middle class became the rage for Western business.

Even the most benign entity can somehow tie into defense production. Which leads me to this item of concern. via Primemover Mag

Italian truck group, IVECO, according to reports overseas, is being shopped around by its parent company.

IVECO owner, CNH Industrial, was reportedly in talks to the sell a majority share in the truck manufacture to Chinese automaker FAW Group.

Having had an offer worth $US3.7 billion rebuffed last July, the Changchun-based FAW, a state-owned Chinese company, has renewed discussions with CNH Industrial to acquire IVECO’s commercial vehicles business which would include trucks and buses and a stake in the engine division.

It is understood CNH Industrial, a subsidiary of the Agnelli family’s holding company Exor, had also held talks with Shandong Heavy Industry Group, another Chinese industrial conglomerate, prior to Christmas.

FAW, which makes heavy duty trucks under its Jiefang brand, is looking to expand outside China as was reported by Reuters, who claims a source had confirmed an improved offer has been made during the most recent negotiations to acquire all of IVECO’s commercial vehicles business as part of its plans to obtain access to the international commercial vehicles market.

IVECO is currently in discussions to develop autonomous truck technologies with Jiefang-affiliated Chinese startup Plus.

At this stage it is still too early to know how this will affect its partnership with Nikola who it is currently building the prototype battery-electric Nikola Tre in Ulm, Germany.

IVECO already makes vans in China with state-owned SAIC Motor, the parent of MG and LDV light commercial vehicles.

In 2019 IVECO defense vehicles became part of CNH Industrial’s commercial and specialty vehicles unit.

I wonder if there is an unforeseen danger in this potential acquisition.  I know its not the defense unit but IVECO trucks in Chinese hands can't be a good thing.

I almost wish the US would buy the thing just to keep it from them.