HOUSTON – When world leaders and high profile people need protection, they come to the Texas Armoring Corporation in San Antonio.
Armored vehicles that can withstand gunfire from an AK-47 are keeping high-profile people safe and alive.
This level of protection is in big demand around the world.
The SUVs and cars are Texas-built and bulletproof.
Channel 2’s Ryan Korsgard takes us inside the manufacturing process and reveals where these vehicles are headed.
"Every vehicle that we do is highly customized. It's a handmade vehicle at this point," said Trent Kimball, president and CEO, Texas Armoring Corp.
The work here protects families.
"This is an armored vehicle. You can't tell from the outside," Kimball said.
Almost all of the vehicles built there are shipped overseas, providing protection from bullets, landmines and grenades.
"If I started naming clients, you would definitely know them," Kimball said.
Kimball started the business nearly 20 years ago.
"We actually make a fully protected cocoon so that the occupants inside the vehicle can stay inside the vehicle and get shot at multiple, multiple times," Kimball said.
To create the moving fortresses, Kimball's team removes everything from the inside of a new SUV, truck or even a car.
They coat the inside with steel and weld it into place.
"It is not a cookie-cutter operation. Each and every one, a custom job," Kimball said. "Every vehicle that we do is highly customized. It's a handmade vehicle at this point."
They replace the regular glass with 2-inch thick, bullet-resistant glass.
"There's no penetration. So, that's the whole idea of the armored glass. It's still going to break. But it's not going to penetrate," Kimball said. "If you're the head of state, you want protection on the road. So they come here to put a piece of steel between them and their assassin."
Armoring can cost about $85,000 and add about 1,500 pounds to an SUV.
Kimball said most clients want to protect their families from kidnappings. He says many of their vehicles travel through Houston, headed to the Middle East, West Africa or Central America.
"Most of our clients are well-known in their country. Either they're politicians or very, very wealthy businessmen. Or celebrities in their specific country or region. They are really high-profile individuals," Kimball said.
Could criminals or drug dealers get their hands on one of these vehicles?
Kimball said it's unlikely. The U.S. government knows each client because an export license is required for every purchase.
"We don't sell to bad guys. We sell to the good guys trying to protect themselves," Kimball said.
They outfit about 100 vehicles each year in a market driven by the dangerous locations around the world.