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William Collins White III, founder of Defenshield Inc., shares a laugh with U.S. Rep. Dan Maffei before touring the company's facility in DeWitt in 2009. Defenshield is relocating to St. Augustine, Fla.

(Mike Greenlar | mgreenlar@syradcuse.com)

DeWitt, N.Y. — Defenshield Inc., a maker of ballistic shields for the military and law enforcement agencies, is moving to Florida.

Norman Gregory, vice president of economic development at St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce, said Defenshield began moving into its new offices on U.S. Route 1 in St. Augustine, Fla., today.

Gregory said company executives told the chamber of commerce they were moving to St. Augustine because of Florida's lower taxes and better climate.

"They visited with us and felt like we were a business-friendly community," Gregory said.

There may have been one other factor in the company's decision. A story in the St. Augustine Record on Saturday said Defenshield founder William Collins White III is a "self-professed gun enthusiast" and was a fan of Florida's less-stringent firearms laws.

It was not immediately clear whether New York's SAFE Act restrictions on military-style assault weapons interferes with the company's operations. Gregory said the company sought and found a site in the St. Augustine area where it can test its shields by firing military weapons such as .50-caliber machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades at them.

A woman who answered the phone at the company's office on Corporate Circle in DeWitt today said White was busy unloading office equipment in St. Augustine and was not immediately available to comment.

White, an Air Force veteran and former Carrier Corp. engineer, founded Defenshield in 2002 in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The company makes bullet-resistant glass shields that protect soldiers, law enforcement personnel and security guards at public buildings and other installations. Most of its sales are to the military and government agencies.

Congressman Dan Maffei pushes on a Mobile Defensive Fighting Position unit from Defenshield Inc. during a tour of the company's offices in DeWitt in 2009.

In 2010, the company's shields helped to protect police officers from a man who tried to shoot his way into the Pentagon.

Gregory said the company will employ 15 to 20 people in St. Augustine. In 2010, the company employed 11 people in DeWitt. Gregory said the company did not ask for or receive financial assistance to relocate to St. Augustine.

Defenshield has never manufactured its products. Instead, it has contracted with other manufacturers, mostly in the Upstate area, to fabricate the components and assemble its shields. Gregory said the company plans to continue contracting out its manufacturing.

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