HESCO barriers used to protect key infrastructure in Bangkok flooding.

HESCO, the leader in the design and manufacture of rapidly deployable force protection barriers, is assisting the Thai Government to protect some of its key infrastructure from the devastating floods, the company announced today. Applying the same technology that allows troops in war zones to quickly install life-protecting fortifications against enemy attacks, HESCO has been working around the clock erecting flood-containing barriers around Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport, under the supervision of the Ministry of Transport and working with the Royal Thai Army.

In the face of what is being called the worst flooding in Thailand in nearly 70 years, HESCO is installing nearly 2 kilometers of the new 2012 range of barriers around the airport, a focal point of international relief efforts for the nation. The new versions of the one-meter-tall protective walls can be readily removed and redeployed, and take a minimum of training to install. So far they have kept the rising waters from inundating the airport’s runways.

With the success of the barriers so far, Thai officials are contemplating the use of HESCO fortifications at other important locations, including the historic palaces across the ancient city. An additional five kilometers of barriers are being installed to protect the main route into Bangkok from the airport.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra called for fresh ideas to stem the country’s worst floods since 1942. “The crisis we’re facing today is the most critical natural disaster that ever happened in Thai history,” she told reporters.

Prime Minister Shinawatra visited the airport to inspect the HESCO barriers. An additional 10 kilometers of barriers may be purchased shortly by Thai authorities.

HESCO has been the supplier of force protection barriers that protect and defend troops and facilities against enemy attacks since 1991, saving countless lives and mission critical assets. HESCO barriers are well-known and relied on by troops around the world to provide safety and protection in the most difficult locations. Acknowledged as the most significant development in field fortifications since the Second World War, HESCO products have become a key component and the benchmark in force protection throughout the world, and have been used in every major conflict since the first Gulf war.

The 2012 HESCO Mil® range of protective barriers provides a force protection system with an innovative new design feature that significantly increases the flexibility of the product, allowing it to be rapidly recovered after use. Employing a quick release pin system that allows the barrier to be quickly emptied and efficiently packaged, the 2012 HESCO Mil unit can be easily removed from its deployed location when no longer required, and either disposed of responsibly, re-deployed elsewhere or stored for future use.