"We are pleased to report that we have delivered the first samples of Dragon Silk to our US Army sponsor for independent performance confirmation,” said the Company’s COO Jon Rice.

“These samples mark the starting point for what we hope will be a long lasting and profound impact on protective equipment for those dedicated to protecting us. The speed that our Indiana facility was able to ramp up to meet this request helps to confirm, that we have the ability to promptly deliver a top quality, cost effective, fibre to the Army and future commercial customers.”

Expanding domestic production

The company is producing Dragon Silk at its Indiana factory and expects to make final delivery of the shoot packs for ballistic testing later this year. 

In April, the company announced the expansion of the domestic recombinant spider silk production capacity with the purchase and installation of a new commercial scale cocoon processing machine to free up production staff and lower overall costs. The new machine replaced a much smaller cocoon processing machine the company has been using to produce materials under a contract with the US Army.

US Army contract

The company received a contract worth of up to US$ 1 million, for the development of high performance fibres for protective apparel applications in July 2016. Under the fully funded base effort, the company will deliver ballistic shoot packs constructed from its proprietary Dragon Silk material for performance testing.

These shoot packs will be tested and evaluated for critical soldier protective applications including ballistic impact. If awarded, the option phase will significantly expand this work with the US Army, the company reports.

Kraig Biocraft Laboratories

Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, a fully reporting biotechnology company is a leading developer of genetically engineered spider silk based fibre technologies.

The company says its genetic engineering research has succeeded in developing a practical and cost-effective technology for producing recombinant spider silk based fibres on an industrial scale. Kraig Biocraft Laboratories is moving rapidly to commercialize its spider silk technology, which it believes will have a significant impact on the global textiles industry.

At the same time, the company are continuing to work in cooperation with leading laboratories to create new stronger and more flexible spider silk based fibres with potentially broad applications for consumers and industry in the multi-billion-dollar marketplace for textiles and performance polymers.

www.kraiglabs.com

Further reading

Kraig Biocraft Laboratories receives contract from US Army to deliver Dragon Silk

Kraig Biocraft Laboratories completes first batch of Dragon Silk for US Army