OVIK was a British company that designs and manufactures specialist and armoured vehicles and

chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...

systems. It was established in 2008, and based in Dorset. OVIK designs and develops specialist vehicles (and other equipment) for defence, security, emergency services and commercial customers.

History

OVIK was formed by brothers Jez and Duncan Hermer in 2008. OVIK was both a specialist vehicle manufacturer and an engineering consultancy offering support for the design, prototype and test of land-based and amphibious special vehicles. OVIK was involved in the transformation of the

Singapore Technologies Kinetics ST Engineering Land Systems Ltd (STELS), Trade name, doing business as ST Kinetics, is a strategic business area of ST Engineering and handles land systems and specialty vehicles. In 2000, ST Engineering acquired the Chartered Industries of Sin ...

Bronco All Terrain Tracked Carrier vehicle into the UK MOD's WARTHOG vehicle, a vehicle developed as an Urgent Operational Requirement (UOR) for Operation Herrick in Afghanistan. The company went in liquidation in April 2020.

Etymology

OVIK is based in Dorset, and close to the British Army's Armour Centre at Bovington. The name OVIK is derived from the name of the Swedish town Örnsköldsvik often shortened to OVIK, a town Jez Hermer is associated with through his work with

Hagglunds BAE Systems AB is a Swedish defence company and a subsidiary of BAE Systems Land & Armaments, whose ultimate parent is the British defence contractor BAE Systems. The company is a holding company for Land Systems Hägglunds AB and BAE Systems Bof ...

, a company headquartered in the town.

Products

*Crossway

4x4 Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

and 6x6 vehicles. Customers included the United Kingdom Civil Nuclear Constabulary, Thames Valley Police and Dorset Police, UK Civil Nuclear Constabulary, Dorset Police, Thames Valley Police,

Kent Police Kent Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the and approximately 1.8 million inhabitants of Kent, a county in the south east of England. History On 14 January 1857, a 222-strong 'Kent County Constabulary' was formed u ...

and

Essex Police Essex Police is a territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Essex, in the East of England. Essex Police is responsible for a population of over 1.8 million people and an area of . The chief constable is Ben-Julian Harri ...

. *Centaur Chassis - Specialist, all terrain chassis and chassis cowls. *Pangolin Armoured Public Order Vehicle, now in its third generation. 193 are in service with the Police Service of Northern Ireland and Merseyside Police. *Meerkat Super Light Tracked Vehicle (SLTV). *

OVIK Cameleon IV440 Modular Mission Vehicle The Cameleon IV440 is a four-wheel drive modular mission system vehicle designed by Jez Hermer MBE, CEO of OVIK Special Vehicles. Designed and developed in 2010, it is based upon the IVECO Daily 4x4 chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' ...

References

{{reflist

External links

OVIK Crossway

The Telegraph article on the VIK Crossway

Sunday Times Article - Back Off - Our Other Armoured Car is a Tank

Auto Express Article - We Test The Toughest Off Roader
Armoured vehicles British companies established in 2008 Companies based in Dorset