Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
Winning a contract with the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) (MOD) is marked as a turning point in the company history due to the vast quantity of oars ordered and as a result additional staff, machines and premises had to be found. While the oars for the Air Ministry were in production the Royal Navy approached Collars to design a paddle to be used in invasion. It had to be able to enter the water as quietly as possible yet strong enough to do the job. A design for the 5’ Paddle was submitted, accepted and thousands were ordered. The contract required a nearly 24-hour production schedule to meet the deadline. Today there is still an enabling contract in place with the MOD and the same paddle, along with certain oars are still being produced by Collars in Oxford.