While visiting Milipol Paris 2025, we had the pleasure of meeting with Thomas Poandl, VP Marketing and Communications at ULBRICHTS GmbH. ULBRICHTS is a ballistics manufacturing company based in Upper Austria, specializing in both automotive and personal protection. On the protection side, the focus of BodyArmorNews, ULBRICHTS has special pride in their helmet lines, used by the police and special forces.
ULBRICHTS at Milipol Paris
ULBRICHTS came to Milipol with intent to launch and showcase some of their new, state of the art products. A complete new generation of first responder rifle helmets was present in the launch, as well as the lightest VPAM HVN 2009 level 3 helmet, which, without accessories, weighs in at a remarkable one kilogram. This helmet is not only the most lightweight helmet, but it’s also unisize, thus accessible for every head (ranging size 48-64). There are options for the cut of the helmet as well: high cut and then low cut curved, specifically constructed for special intervention teams. “In this case, we are talking about very lightweight flexible solutions for dynamic situations,” explained Poandl. “It’s also working for the military, as it’s getting lighter and lighter while still keeping the flexibility.”
With the OPTIO helmet line, the ‘handgun’ helmets, ULBRICHTS moves to close the portfolio. The OPTIO line is diverse, boasting a ‘super light’ and an ‘OPTIO plus,’ the difference being that an increase in weight is an increase in protection. What ULBRICHTS calls ‘true protection’ encapsulates stopping and trauma protection.
Poandl took his time patiently explaining the exact mechanics of each helmet, outlining the rims and the various moving parts that influence protection. “We are always testing according to the VPAM HVN2009 standards, so everything is beyond the classical NIJ standard,” he said. “We also take responsibility for trauma protection. When it comes to handgun or rifle hits it’s very important to have stopping and trauma protection, because otherwise the residual energy will kill you.”
The Helmets in Action
ULBRICHTS’ main market is the police force. “Police, special forces, first responders, military police, and then military special forces,” Poandl specified. “Honestly the biggest difference is always in the protection, and the more protection, the higher the weight. That’s something you have to mention. As we are more focused on protection and on quality, you can’t have a cheap helmet.” This production philosophy narrows down ULBRICHTS’ market for them. “Like a Mercedes, it’s not for everybody,” Poandl joked.
ULBRICHTS has an interesting and somewhat unconventional method for user end feedback. While they equip the police, they also equip special forces and intervention teams for the Ministry of Justice in Austria, which includes prison guards. These prison guards are equipped with ULBRICHTS helmets, and are shown videos and displays of how the helmets work and protect. “They love it,” Poandl said. “They know {due to the videos} that whatever appears, if it’s a knife or a bullet, they have 100% security. This gives you more freedom of interaction because you have this knowledge and you trust the product.”
Implications of the Conflict in Ukraine
We asked if, despite providing protection primarily to the police, the conflict in Ukraine (specifically with fragmentation) had in any way changed head protection technology. “There is a simple reason why we launched yesterday during a military show,” Poandl replied. “Now everybody is focusing just on the military. Everybody is investing a lot of money into heavy stuff, not personal equipment. Everybody sees there is a threat.” Here, Poandl flipped the script slightly, illuminating a new area of conflict that goes generally unnoticed. “Nobody’s talking about urban warfare,” he said. “We don’t have this nice glass ball where we can look into the future, but we can drive the innovations and bring the future requirements already to people’s heads today. At the moment we are talking about military actions. When the military action is done, what’s coming next?
“My personal opinion about this is we learned it the hard way in 2020 when we had the terror attack in Austria, where we had a terrorist who had an AK-47 but there was no protection given,” Poandl continued. He likened the idea of ten year helmet warranties to Iphones: theoretically, you could run an Iphone 1 now, but would you buy it? If you buy a helmet now, you can have it functionally for ten years, even when the technology changes. It’s because of the rapid developments constantly occurring that companies should already be prepared for what comes next. To Poandl, the past can often inform the future. “What we should have learned from the Yugoslavia war, is whenever the war is over, people like to make money out of nothing. We faced this already in Europe once and now we are facing it more from the East.
“It’s the same situation, so why should we not learn from the past and just anticipate? I think this is something which can be a threat in the future, and if you don’t start now with the procurement of the new generation, then when the war is over it could be too late. It takes an eight hour drive to Ukraine to pick up goods. It’s not that far away.”
The responsibility will switch from the Ministry of Defense to the Ministry of Interior, Poandl predicted. “Everybody’s spending military money, but what’s coming next when the gates are closed, when the borders are closed? The military is out, but who is responsible then? It’s border police and police internally.” An interesting and crucial lens to look through when anticipating the end of the war and potential unrest it could bring. Internal terror could increase, and for this reason ensuring police and special force protection is vastly important. Thankfully, ULBRICHTS is yet again one step ahead of the game.
