NFM Group is a European supplier of advanced personal protection and individual equipment systems for armed forces and law enforcement agencies. Originating in Norway, Poland currently serves as one of the Group’s main industrial centres. It has five business units across the globe, supplying advanced personal protection systems to armed forces and law enforcement agencies in various NATO countries. Due to its recent expansions, NFM Group now also supplies body armor to the German Bundeswehr and the French FÉLIN program. While NFM Group exhibited its Scandinavian-style product line at Eurosatory 2026, BodyArmorNews.com had the chance to ask the CEO of NFM Group Poland, Marcin Dombrowski, about his rise to the top at the company.
“Well, it’s a long journey. I started my career with NFM a long time ago, I think in 2006. In the beginning, it was almost an accident. I have a Master’s degree in Control and Robotics, which doesn’t really look familiar. On the other hand, the math and physics are there. Here, it’s all about math and physics.”
“In the beginning, I was a project manager, then started in ballistics. Once you are in and you understand… I mean, we are stopping bullets. Like Neo from The Matrix. We understand not only what material to use, but how it’s possible that this material stops bullets. For 99% of society, it’s like walking on water.”
Dombrowski left the NFM Group in 2015, after which he spent four years working at Teijin Aramid. He worked on developing new fabrics, and describes it as ‘very much an engineering job’. Dombrowski considers his time at Teijin Aramid very valuable. “I really learned a lot about ballistics. Then I moved to a smaller organization in Italy, Pro-Systems S.p.A. It’s small but very well known and established in our industry. At Pro-Systems, I was more of a business creator. I was responsible for sales, business development and a little bit of R&D. And then after four years, the offer came from NFM.”
Understanding the body armor market
Dombrowski rejoined NFM as a Sales Director in 2024, and moved up quickly to becoming the CEO of NFM Group Poland. “I like it a lot. It’s a new challenge, also for my personal development. It comes with responsibility, but I think it was a good time for it.”
Thanks to his experiences with several body-armor producers, Dombrowski has developed a large understanding of how body armor works. “I learned that there is a big market, that everybody has their own niche, their own way of approaching the market. That was very eye-opening. Today, I still use that experience. I know how the big players think. It’s much easier for me to be in a position to negotiate, since I have all this knowledge.”
“I’ve gotten a good education in business creation, business development, and how to bring value to customers. This knowledge is very valuable, and I see the benefit of it every single day. Working on projects, big tenders, negotiating raw materials, planning, developing our own raw material strategy. I think it’s a good match, a good use of my knowledge. This is my professional road. Understanding the market, from the fiber to the fabric to integration, and final product. And then, of course, becoming CEO is a very different kind of responsibility. It’s a nice completion of my career.”
The humble origins of NFM Group
NFM Group was originally based in Norway. It was established by four soldiers serving in the Norwegian Armed Forces, with the goal of improving the equipment they were using. “Walter”, Dombrowski points at one of his colleagues, “one of our founding fathers, was sewing vests in a basement in 1996.”
“In 2001, NFM was looking for a subcontractor in Poland, but decided to establish a sample studio. Back then, the company consisted of seven women: six sewers and a manager”, Dombrowski detailed NFM Group’s modest beginnings. “Step by step, we grew. We came from very humble beginnings in a rural area of Poland, an area with 30% unemployment. Today, NFM is an international group. We employ 1200 people in Europe, and the total group consists of 3500 people. We have factories in Poland, Bulgaria, Germany and France, as well as a sister company in the United States.”
Poland has been the core of NFM for years. “Initially, it was because of cheap manufacturing, but then we became the R&D center for textiles. Our vests are designed and developed in Poland. We have one of the biggest factories in Europe”, Dombrowski explains.
“We bought Hexonia GmbH in 2021, which established us in the German market. NFM France was established in 2015, and last October, we finalized the acquisition of Paul Boyé Technologies. Poland is all about body armor and composites. Hexonia is a masterclass in combat clothing and integrated clothing systems. Paul Boyé is the center of excellence with CBRN. We are present locally, and act globally. We are stronger together in Europe.”
How is body armor developing in Europe?
According to Dombrowski, the ongoing war in Ukraine hasn’t turned Poland into a major center for body armor, but believes that Polish defence is developing quickly. “I wouldn’t say that Poland has become a major player in body armor, but I’d say that in general, Polish defence is developing dramatically fast. We take Russia as a very serious threat.”
Dombrowski states that nowadays, armies don’t have a contact line with the enemy. Rifle fire is no longer the dominant driver of casualties in many frontline scenarios, influencing NFM’s approach to body armor. “Drones are everywhere. The majority of casualties is caused by fragments, originating from artillery shells, mortar shells, IEDs, drones that explode with fragments.”
“Fragment resistance and coverage area are far more important than they used to be, than in Iraq and Afghanistan. That was the era of the lightweight plate carrier, of mobility above everything else. Today, survivability is far more important. That has an impact on the design and functionality of body armor.”
Additionally, Dombrowski explains that nowadays, a crucial aspect of body armor is the ability to not be detected. NFM is currently putting R&D resources on designing multi-spectral camouflage solutions, including short-infrared, far-infrared and thermal camouflage.
Adapting to the agile environment of modern warfare
Dombrowski describes the environment in Ukraine as extremely dynamic. “You see the steep learning curve on both sides. They develop something, like new drones with effective sensors. The other party learns how it works, and develops countermeasures. It’s a constant race.”
Ukraine has an extremely agile defence industry, and Dombrowski believes that the rest of Europe should learn from it. “You have to be able to adapt equipment to be agile enough to respond to the change of threat in weeks or days, not months or years. We see a lot of frame contracts. There has to be a possibility in these contracts to adapt the equipment we deliver. The threat changes, the environment changes, so the product we’re supplying now might be irrelevant in 12 months. We have to be able to adapt, and the buying authority should also be able to process this change.”
Although the ever-changing nature of body armor is a challenge to work with, Dombrowski describes his work as rewarding. “I’ve met people who have been able to come back home from war or the streets, all because they were wearing the best type of body armor. That is extremely satisfactory. It gives us the fuel to fight the daily challenges, and there are a lot of challenges.”
