About Us
25 Years of Achievement
Supacat is one of the UK’s leading independent developers of high mobility vehicles and other land transport systems for specialist use.
The company was established in 1981, and has been developing specialist vehicles and other equipment for both civil and military customers ever since.
Supacat’s range of off-road wheeled and tracked vehicles continues to expand as new requirements for high mobility cross-country vehicle designs make ever greater demands on the company’s Engineering team.
Based in Devon, England, Supacat is accredited to ISO 9001:2000 and delivers all the disciplines of vehicle design, including engineering, testing, prototype manufacture, certification, low-rate production, and fleet support.
In addition to vehicles and land system engineering, the company provides a complete support management service for its products including training, publications, spares supply, field support, and base-level maintenance, repair and overhaul.
Supacat is a leading exponent of e-business, operating its own customer service portal, and is a UK Distributor for other specialist vehicle products such as the Bombardier Lynx range of over-snow vehicles.
Concept to Prototype to Production
The Supacat 6x6 All-Terrain Mobile Platform (ATMP) is now in its third generation. The ‘cat’, as it is affectionately known, is a prime example of mechanical engineering simplicity being applied by Supacat to produce a straightforward and inexpensive solution to a unique customer requirement.
The company is well known for its skill in developing solutions to unusual customer requirements, and during the late 1990s designed and developed the High Mobility Transporter (HMT) to meet the needs of primarily military customers for a light-to-medium load carrier.
Now being produced in both 4x4 and 6x6 configurations, the 4x4 quickly developed a reputation as a formidable off-road vehicle and the 6x6 has demonstrated that it fills a clear capability gap in the medium load carrier market.
Supacat’s engineering capability and innovation, coupled with rapid prototyping skills have, working closely with its customers, resulted in a number of unique land systems emerging from the company’s facilities in Devon, England.
Volume manufacture of Supacat products is generally licensed to one or more qualified production partners. In this way, the company can continue to focus on its strength: engineering innovation.
Design, Engineering and Test
Working either from a customer requirement specification or an internally funded development specification, Supacat’s team of Engineers has the capability to develop concepts into working prototypes in the shortest possible timescales. Using state-of-the-art computer-aided design tools, integrated with the company’s MRP system, the team has the ability to specify and resource components quickly and effectively to meet demanding schedules. The company is supported by highly capable suppliers who can respond quickly and reliably to demand.
The company’s own test track, correlated with known standards, is available 24-7 to test prototype vehicles for performance and durability.
Specialised third-party facilities are used for environmental testing such as hot and cold climate testing, electro-magnetic compatibility testing, and structural (static and fatigue) testing.
Systems Integration
Supacat’s design philosophy is to incorporate new technology into the company’s land system products as it becomes available. In this way a basic platform can be developed holistically to undertake a variety of tasks whilst retaining the basic advantages of fleet commonality and interoperability.
Supacat uses commercial-off-the-shelf components wherever possible to ensure reliability and maintainability are the best they can be, and to minimise the impact of obsolescence in a product life cycle measured in decades.
Adaptation and Certification
Supacat’s engineering skills are applied to adapting other manufacturer’s products to meet particular customer requirements, as well as the creation of new concepts. Two examples are: on the one hand an armoured truck requiring integration of specialised, mission-related systems and modification to meet UK road legislation, and on the other a commercial Skidoo modified to meet the mission-specific needs of a military customer. Both projects were undertaken within demanding timescales.
Project Management
Supacat is a project-led company and is keenly aware of the need to satisfy the three constraints on complex projects, viz. Specification, Schedule and Budget. Supacat’s Project Managers are all experienced practitioners and can call upon the support of equally experienced Engineers and Technicians from within the company or, where additional specialist expertise is needed, from partner organisations.
Export Success
Supacat’s ATMP and latterly the HMT series have been exported to customers around the world. The ‘cat’ has seen service in Europe, the Middle and Far East, as well as in North America.
The all-new HMT is destined to become a benchmark in off-road performance with customers so far in Europe and North America. Lockheed Martin Corporation has created a new Tactical Wheeled Vehicles business in the USA to develop the market for HMT in North America, and in 2006 acquired all rights to the HMT design by purchasing HMT Vehicles Ltd.