Cato Ringstad AS has been in business for 50 years, including 30 years as an equipment manufacturer for defence forces, police departments and other organizations. The company and its subsidiary Cato Composites are known for their ability to consistently fulfil the high standards for production quality demanded by these markets. Cato Composites specializes in manufacturing lightweight products from high-performance thermoplastic composite materials. State-of-the-art facilities and advanced know-how give it a leading edge as a contract manufacturer.

Garments
Cato Ringstad has extensive experience in providing textiles and related products for soldiers, and is expert at meeting the demands of the harsh Nordic climate. The company?s product range includes vests for bullet, fragment and stab protection, which it has delivered to armed forces, police departments and civilians throughout the Nordic region. Cato Ringtad designs and develops many of its products, which can also be made according to customer specifications.

Cato Composites
Advanced production methods cut unit costs, and open up the possibility for a completely new range of products made out of composites. Composites can satisfy the most stringent specifications by combining specific materials, while offering a very lightweight alternative to steel and aluminium. In general, lighter products offer environmental benefits, and the production process for composites requires less energy than processes for traditional materials.Compared to conventional thermoset composites, advanced reinforced thermoplastics offer much shorter cycle times, better impact resistance, no harmful gases during processing, and full recyclability. The production process allows for great flexibility in the type and thickness of materials used, resulting in major savings in time and tooling for both prototyping and production.

Facilities
Cato Composites offers advanced know-how and modern facilities featuring state-of-the-art machinery for high-speed, top-quality forming of various products, including sandwich products and multilayered combinations of several materials. Fully automated production (for heating, moulding, extraction, etc.) ensures high quality and low costs.

Materials
Cato Composites utilizes a variety of thermoplastic composite materials in the forming process, including glass, carbon, aramid, and hybrid fabrics combined with PP, PBT, PA, and more. The company offers engineering and prototyping to meet almost any mechanical, physical or chemical specification.