What EPE does

EPE (legal entity Zangold Pty Ltd, trading as Explosive Protective Equipment / EPE Trusted to Protect) is a privately held, 100% Australian- and veteran-owned defence and security company founded around 2000 and headquartered in Brisbane, Queensland. The company supplies specialist equipment, training, and through-life support to defence forces, law enforcement, and government agencies across Australia, New Zealand, the Indo-Pacific, the United States, the United Kingdom and continental Europe. Its product portfolio spans nine equipment categories: explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) tools, tactical systems, uncrewed ground and aerial systems (UGVs/UAVs), CBRN detection and protection, search and countermine, inert training aids, deployable infrastructure, intelligence and exploitation, and counter-measures including counter-UAS. These are delivered alongside specialist training courses (C-IED, EOD, CBRND, MARS, advanced X-ray) conducted at the company's purpose-built MILTECS testing and evaluation facilities in Brisbane, and recurring maintenance and sustainment services for installed equipment fleets.

EPE operates a hybrid revenue model combining equipment sales, project-based prime-vendor programme management (e.g., NZDF Counter Explosive Hazards, ADF Counter-IED sustainment, DFAT countermeasures, ADF Level-2 exploitation), managed through-life-support and OEM-accredited maintenance, and fee-based specialist training. Pricing is quote-based with 30-day payment terms for government customers, and distribution combines direct enterprise field sales via regional business development teams with prime-vendor partnerships and OEM distribution agreements (Smiths Detection, Med-Eng, QinetiQ, Minelab, Boston Dynamics, 908 Devices, RedWave). The company is 65% veteran-staffed and has ranked in Australian Defence Magazine's Top 20 ANZ Defence SMEs for ten consecutive years.

Beyond its core defence remit, EPE co-leads the ELO2 consortium of 21 partners selected by the Australian Space Agency to deliver Australia's first lunar rover (ROO-VER) under the Moon to Mars Trailblazer programme, and is developing novel CBRN filtration (Broad Spectrum Respiratory Canister) with CSIRO using Metal Organic Frameworks. The company is led by Group CEO and founder Warwick Penrose (former Australian Army Royal Engineer) with a board chaired by a recently retired Australian Army Major General, and operates through wholly-owned subsidiaries in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

Name

EPE

Legal name

Zangold Pty Ltd trading as Explosive Protective Equipment (EPE)

Website

https://epequip.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

EPE is an Australian veteran-owned defence company that supplies counter-IED, CBRN defence, EOD equipment, specialist training, and through-life support to defence forces, law enforcement and government agencies across APAC, the US, UK and Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Defence Equipment and Support Services

NAICS

Small Arms, Ordnance, and Ordnance Accessories Manufacturing (332994), Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511)

SIC

Ordnance & Accessories, (No Vehicles/Guided Missiles) (3480)

akta.pro primary industry

Demilitarization, Disposal & Ordnance Remediation (EOD Support) (IMABAHAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mine Action & Explosive Ordnance Risk Reduction (EOD/ERW) (BPADAFAH), Mine Action & Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE) (BPADADAM)

Keywords

• Counter-IED equipment
• CBRN defence solutions
• Explosive ordnance disposal
• Defence specialist training
• Uncrewed ground vehicles

Headquarters

HQ city

Fassifern Valley

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Equipment Sales: Sale of specialised equipment including EOD tools, CBRNe detection, tactical systems, uncrewed systems, search and countermine equipment, deployable infrastructure, intelligence and exploitation systems, countermeasures, and inert training aids.
2. Specialist Training Services: Provision of specialist training courses including MARS, Post Blast Investigation, HME Theory & Practical, Alarm Sensor Defeat, Maritime EOD Interdiction, Advanced X-Ray Techniques, CBRN Forensic Procedures, Advanced IED Electronics, Tactical EOD, and Bomb Search courses. Delivered at customer locations or EPE MILTECS facilities.
3. Through Life Support & Maintenance: Ongoing maintenance, repair, and sustainment services for equipment fleets. Includes planned preventative maintenance, unscheduled maintenance, OEM-accredited repairs, and field support. Provides fixed-price ILS packages and Total Cost of Ownership support.
4. Project Delivery & Program Management: End-to-end project management for complex defence programs including threat assessment, capability gap analysis, solution architecture, procurement, compliance, training, and sustainment. Manages ADF level 2 exploitation capability, DFAT countermeasures capabilities, and NZDF CEH capability.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

EPE supplies specialised defence equipment for Explosive Ordnance Disposal, CBRNe detection and protection, counter-IED, tactical operations, search and countermine, uncrewed systems, and force protection, sold to defence forces, law enforcement, and government agencies. The company also delivers specialist C-IED, EOD and CBRN training, and provides through-life maintenance and OEM-accredited sustainment services for customer equipment fleets.

Product overview

EPE (Explosive Protective Equipment) is a defence and security equipment and services company offering a portfolio of interconnected products and services. The core offering consists of specialised equipment categories: EOD (explosive ordnance disposal), Tactical Systems, Uncrewed Systems (UGVs/UAVs), CBRNe (chemical/biological/radiological/nuclear/explosive), Search and Countermine, Inert Training Aids, Deployable Infrastructure, Intelligence and Exploitation, and Counter Measures (including counter-UAS). These equipment lines are complemented by specialist training services (C-IED, EOD, CBRND, search operations) delivered at the company's MILTECS testing facilities, and through-life support/maintenance services providing OEM-accredited repairs and sustainment. EPE also leads the ROO-VER Mission as Australia's contribution to the NASA Artemis lunar program, building a semi-autonomous lunar rover through the ELO2 consortium.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MILTECS: Purpose-built training, test and evaluation facilities for Defence, industry and research organisations, providing quantifiable, comparable, repeatable, realistic and challenging training environments
• ELO2 Consortium

Products and services

• EOD Equipment Explosive Ordnance Disposal equipment for bomb disposal operations, including robots, disruptors, x-ray systems, and personal protective equipment, sold to military EOD units and police bomb response teams.
• Tactical Systems Tactical equipment for military and law enforcement operations including force protection systems and tactical vehicles.
• Uncrewed Systems Unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs/drones), and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) for reconnaissance, EOD, and surveillance missions, supported by OEM-accredited sustainment.
• CBRNe Equipment Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and explosive detection, protection and decontamination equipment for hazard response by military, law enforcement and emergency services.
• Search and Countermine Equipment Landmine and improvised explosive device detection equipment including ground penetrating radar and metal detectors for military and police search teams.
• Inert Training Aids Training equipment including simulated explosive devices, mock IEDs, and inert munitions used for realistic EOD and counter-IED training exercises.
• Deployable Infrastructure Mobile and deployable shelters, command posts, and field support infrastructure for defence and security operations in remote locations.
• Intelligence & Exploitation Equipment Communication intelligence, electronic warfare support, and forensic exploitation equipment for intelligence gathering by defence and law enforcement customers.
• Counter Measures Electronic countermeasures, counter-UAS systems, and jamming equipment to detect and neutralise drone threats and IED triggers.
• Specialist Training Services Training programmes in Counter-IED, EOD, CBRND, search operations, manual access render safe (MARS), and tactical EOD delivered by former military and police operators at purpose-built MILTECS facilities or at customer locations.
• Through Life Support Maintenance, repair, upgrade and sustainment services for equipment fleets, including OEM-accredited technicians, field service representatives, planned preventative maintenance, and fixed-price ILS packages with Total Cost of Ownership support.
• Project Delivery & Program Management End-to-end project management for complex defence programmes covering threat assessment, capability gap analysis, solution architecture, procurement, compliance, training and sustainment, delivered as Prime Vendor on ADF, NZDF and DFAT programmes.
• MILTECS Testing and Evaluation Facility Purpose-built testing and evaluation facilities including NIST-standardised test grounds, search lanes, uncrewed systems terrain park, motion capture and CBRN laboratories, providing quantifiable, repeatable training and validation environments for defence, industry and research organisations.
• ROO-VER Lunar Rover Program Australia's first lunar rover program led by EPE as co-lead of the ELO2 consortium under the Australian Space Agency's Moon to Mars Trailblazer Program, designing and building a semi-autonomous rover for lunar surface operations supporting the NASA Artemis mission.

Quantifiable outcome

• Sustains 450+ EOD & Search UGVs with Defence and Law Enforcement agencies in APAC region
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Chemring Group: UK-listed defence business with leading positions in counter-IED, EOD detection, and energetic products. Closely comparable to EPE on counter-IED detection and EOD support, though larger and more diversified across maritime and space sensors.
• Marathon Targets: Australian defence training technology company providing moving target systems and live-fire training for military and law enforcement. Closely comparable to EPE's specialist training services and MILTECS capability.
• Allen-Vanguard: Canadian-headquartered specialist in counter-IED, counter-CBRN, and ECM equipment, directly overlapping EPE's product portfolio. EPE CEO Warwick Penrose previously served as Allen-Vanguard's Asia Pacific Manager, underscoring the close comparability of customer base, product set, and operating model.
• DroneShield: Australian-listed counter-UAS specialist selling detection and defeat systems to defence, law enforcement, and critical infrastructure customers. Comparable to EPE's Counter Measures product line and shares an ANZ SME base competing for the same sovereign-defence wallet.
• SYPAQ Systems: Australian defence technology SME focused on autonomous systems, deployable infrastructure, and mission-support capabilities. Comparable to EPE across deployable infrastructure, uncrewed systems, and ADF prime vendor contracting.
• Avon Protection: Specialist CBRN respiratory and protective equipment manufacturer serving military and first responder markets. Directly comparable to EPE's CBRN product line and ASIRO Broad Spectrum Respiratory Canister (in partnership with CSIRO).
• EOS Defence Systems: Australian-owned defence prime producing remote weapon stations and counter-drone systems for ADF and exported customers. Comparable to EPE as an ANZ defence SME serving similar prime vendor and force protection requirements.

Broad incumbents

• QinetiQ: Global defence and security technology company with leading positions in EOD, CBRN, and uncrewed systems, and an EPE OEM partner. Comparable as a much larger incumbent offering overlapping capabilities, particularly in EOD robots and CBRN sensors.
• Smiths Detection: Global leader in CBRN and security detection systems, and EPE's distribution partner in Australia and NZ since 2015. Comparable as a large incumbent that EPE competes with indirectly and partners with across detection product lines.

Regional players

• Nova Systems: Australian defence and engineering consultancy providing integrated capability, test and evaluation, and sustainment services to ADF and wider government. Comparable to EPE's project delivery and through-life support model within the ANZ sovereign-defence ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/epequip

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about EPE