NFM Group AS
Body armour, helmets, combat clothing, CBRN suits and tactical supply
NFM Group AS builds what soldiers wear. Founded in 1996 by four Norwegian soldiers who wanted better tactical vests than the ones they had been issued, the Ski-based group has grown into one of Europe's larger personal protection manufacturers, with roughly 3,400 people working across Norway, Sweden, Germany, France, Poland, Bulgaria, Madagascar and the United States. Ownership has stayed where it started. Four founder holding companies each hold a quarter of the shares, so there is no stock listing and no private equity sponsor behind the expansion. Group revenue reported in Norwegian filings for the most recent year ran to about NOK 2.8 billion.
The portfolio is organised around six product lines. SKJOLD covers body armour, hard plates and soft armour both, developed alongside the Norwegian Army under a five-year framework with a five-year option and refined with input from Norway's defence research establishment FFI. THOR is the load bearing side, and its Modular Combat Vest System became the Norwegian M22 standard issue vest, replacing the older M07. A lighter MCVS variant shown in 2024 came in at just over a kilogram in size Large. HJELM is the helmet line, now in its fourth generation. GARM is the clothing system, running from insulated underwear through combat shirts and uniforms to parkas, built on flame resistant fabrics such as TenCate Defender M and Lenzing FR viscose. EIR is the CBRN range. DRIV is the advisory and delivery arm, handling requirements work, co-development, program management, integration and through-life support.
Underneath the brands sit the capability groupings the company itself lists: Ballistics, Headwear Systems, Uniforms, Heavy Textiles, CBRN and Research & Development. Ballistics and heavy textiles both run through NFM Poland Sp. z o.o., the group's manufacturing and design hub, with a Bulgarian plant feeding THOR and GARM textile work. NFM Technology AS in Norway is the centre of excellence for strategic R&D and runs the ballistic testing laboratory. It developed FREC-2, a pressing process using isostatic pressure up to 1,000 bar to form plates and helmet shells. NFM US LLC opened in St. Louis in 2024 to put ballistic development and production on American soil.
Two acquisitions reshaped the group. Hexonia GmbH of Nettetal, bought in 2022, has supplied Bundeswehr combat jackets, trousers, shirts and moisture protection for over a decade, has equipped the KSK with its Helmsystem Spezialkräfte since 2022, and in 2026 won the Gefechtshelm Streitkräfte order that trade coverage called the largest European combat helmet procurement in recent memory. Paul Boyé, a Toulouse-area firm dating to 1904 and a long-standing supplier of NBC suits to the French army, closed in October 2025 and brought CBRN filter manufacturing at Bédarieux, firefighting and extreme weather clothing, and garment output measured in millions of pieces a year.
The Nordic trading houses round it out. Equipnor AS and Equipnor AB sell tactical equipment into Scandinavian defence and police markets, Norsegear AS is Norway's largest supplier of tactical and professional equipment, Safenor AS and Safenor AB distribute professional scuba, chemical protective and fire and rescue gear, and Capsicum AS supplies high-end equipment to Norwegian military and police buyers.
- Hard and soft ballistic armour design and manufacture
- Ballistic helmet shells and modular head protection systems
- Load bearing vests, plate carriers and pouch systems
- Flame resistant combat clothing and layered uniform systems
- CBRN protective suits, undergarments and filtration
- Heavy technical textiles, knitting and lamination
- Composite pressing and ballistic materials research
- Accredited ballistic testing and standards validation
- Requirements definition, co-development and program management
- Tactical equipment distribution across the Nordics
- Uniform logistics, sustainment and recycling
Body armour line covering hard ballistic plates and soft armour packages.
Modular load bearing platform of vests, belts, pouches and supplementary protection.
Modular Combat Vest System adopted as the Norwegian M22 standard issue combat vest.
Lighter MCVS variant shown in 2024, about 1,054 g in size Large.
Fourth generation modular combat helmet with rails and mounts for night vision and comms.
Layered combat clothing system spanning underwear, shirts, uniforms and outer garments.
Flame resistant combat jacket and trousers built on TenCate Defender M fabric.
No-melt no-drip combat shirt cut for wear under body armour and load carriage.
CBRN protection range of filtering and air-tight suits produced by Paul Boyé.
Proprietary pressing process using isostatic pressure to 1,000 bar for plates and helmet shells.
Polyethylene combat helmet for the German Armed Forces in high-cut and full-cut versions.
Special forces helmet system supplied to the German KSK since 2022.
Combat jacket, trousers, combat shirt and moisture protection for the German Armed Forces.
Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear protective clothing for armed forces.
Protective suits for fire services and severe climate operations.
Body armour and uniform ranges produced at the Toulouse-area plants.
Night vision compliant weapon and equipment spray coating sold in eight colours.
Advisory and delivery arm covering partnership, co-development, program management, integration and support.
Accredited laboratory work and composite development run by NFM Technology AS.
Knitted and laminated flame retardant, antistatic and abrasion resistant fabrics from Poland and Bulgaria.
Trading house supplying armed forces and police in Norway and Sweden.
Norwegian supplier of tactical and professional equipment.
Distribution of professional scuba, chemical protective and fire and rescue gear in Norway and Sweden.
High-end equipment sourcing for Norwegian military and police users.
Development, production and sales of ballistic technology from NFM US LLC in St. Louis.
Lifecycle logistics and recycling services for protective clothing fleets.
Programs & Platforms
Ski, Norway
Ownership
Privately held