User:Dodger67/Sandbox/Mechem (company)

Mechem (SOC) Ltd. is a South African company, a division of the state owned Denel (SOC) Pty aerospace and defence manufacturer.

History

 * Started in late 1960s as a division of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), tasked with research and development of defence related mechanical and chemical engineering research and development. Worked on explosives, warheads, landmines and counter landmine technology. This led to pioneering work on developing landmine resistant vehicles Casspir.
 * 1988 - Transferred to Armscor
 * 1992 - Division of Denel when Armscor split into Denel (manufacturing) and Armscor (materiel acquisition agency)
 * 2001 - Denel sold Mechem's R&D department to CSIR, Denel Mechem concentrates on Demining and EOD as well as contraband (explosives and drugs) detection
 * 2007 - Denel unbundling - became Mechem (Pty) Ltd on 1 April 2007 (Denel branding less prominent than other subsidiaries - Website mechemdemining.com)
 * 2011 - Mechem merged with Denel Land Systems in June 2012. Mechem branding retained for Demining, EOD and Contraband detection activities.