Get ready for smashing time with Pentagon

GEOFF Russell is having a hard time smashing the front passenger window of an Opel Vectra. He bashes it hard four times with a hammer before the glass breaks - but the window holds firm.

He beats it with his fists and kicks it full force. Finally he uses the hammer again and the window gives way.

Russell is the co-inventor of SupaGlass, a thick film bonded to a car window by Pentagon Protection. It has taken a full minute to break in to the Vectra. Studies suggest most thieves give up if they cannot break the glass in seconds.

Russell is doing the violence in Pentagon's Acton plant in west London, where a massive new Rolls Royce, a heavyweight armoured Hummer and several sleek Mercedes are getting protective treatment. Cars for James Bond films have been toughened up here, as (the talk goes) have various cars with royal owners.

When Russell and Peter Mukherjee pioneered SupaGlass in the 1990s, they initially focused on tinting car windows. But after a top BBC man and a dairy chief executive suffered car-jackings, they began working on security glass. A car break-in happens every 21 seconds in Britain.

Having SupaGlass fitted to your car can cost £900 plus VAT - a pittance for VIPs but quite a lot for the ordinary motorist. The big prize is to persuade car makers to offer it as an option when you buy. Mercedes has already done so, BMW may follow.

Protecting buildings is the next big opportunity. Eight months ago Pentagon bought Filmtek, which provides protective coating for windows and glass roofing.

No film can shut out a major bomb blast. But it can do much to lessen the terrible injuries caused by shards of glass flying at 100 miles an hour.

Terror attacks across the globe have brought in huge customers - major banks HSBC, Standard Chartered and Bank of America among them.

At the Eurostar terminal in Waterloo, Pentagon is replacing and protecting the roof glass. At Changi airport in Singapore, it has just completed a £450,000 contract. It has four projects in China and has opened offices in Singapore and Bahrain.

At home, it is talking to health and safety authorities, the fire brigade and police. Chairman David Thomas says: 'There are huge opportunities for us.'

Founded in 1992, Pentagon floated on Aim in April 2003 at 3p. The shares are now 6.37p, valuing it at £8m.

Progress has been slow. In the year to September last, it lost £270,000 on sales of £1.17m. In the half to March, it broke even on sales of £1.5m, half from Filmtek.

Thomas and chief executive Graham Bannerman, who joined with Filmtek, are confident that the pace is picking up. Filmtek alone has won £750,000 orders in the last two months. Profit margins are healthy.

If sales in the coming year hit £5m and profits reach £500,000 on a low tax charge, that would push earnings to 0.4p and justify the current share price. If all goes as Pentagon hopes, profit growth thereafter could be rapid.

Early-stage companies often issue some more shares to replenish their coffers. But Thomas says: 'I would be disappointed if we had to go for additional funding. Our aim is to grow organically.'

This is a small company and things could go wrong. But the team is enthusiastic and confident. Thomas says: 'A great deal of sweat has gone into this. Now we feel we are at the tipping point.' That goes for the shares too.