Collaboration pairs Extremis’ proprietary NEOZANT™ lightweight armor technology – deployed with law-enforcement customers – with Tiderock Composites’ two decades of aerospace-grade composite manufacturing. The initial program will produce and evaluate a full-scale prototype marine hull and deck structure using existing Tiderock Composites tooling, as a first step toward survivability applications for unmanned maritime and ground systems.

BOSTON, MA AND SACRAMENTO, CA / ACCESS Newswire / September 23, 2026 / Tiderock Companies, Inc. (OTC PINK:TDRK) (“Tiderock” or the “Company”), the publicly traded advanced-manufacturing holding company, and Extremis Systems, a subsidiary of NZT Group, Inc. and a developer of lightweight structural and ballistic survivability solutions, today announced a collaboration between Extremis and Tiderock Composites Ltd., the Company’s wholly owned UK manufacturing subsidiary, to evaluate and, subject to the results of an initial prototype program, pursue the development of lightweight structural survivability solutions for marine, unmanned-systems, defense and law-enforcement applications.

The collaboration brings together two complementary capabilities: Extremis’ proprietary NEOZANT™ materials platform and its portfolio of independently tested Level IV body armor, vehicle armor, helmets and ballistic shields; and Tiderock Composites, whose engineering and production heritage spans more than two decades across aerospace, rail, automotive, marine and industrial programs.

The collaboration is the first relationship announced under Tiderock’s recently disclosed refocus on advanced manufacturing, through which the Company intends to extend its UK manufacturing capabilities into the United States through strategic partnerships. The parties have not entered into definitive agreements regarding commercial terms, which will be considered following completion of the initial program. The companies expect to provide further details as milestones are reached.

On September 14, 2026, the Company filed a Certificate of Amendment with the Nevada Secretary of State to change its corporate name to Aloros Corporation and has requested a new trading symbol. The name change and symbol change are subject to review by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and the Company will announce the effective date and new symbol upon FINRA’s confirmation. Until then, the Company’s common stock will continue to trade under the symbol TDRK.

Initial Program: Prototype Marine Structure

As an initial program, Extremis and Tiderock Composites will evaluate Extremis’ NEOZANT™-based materials and manufacturing process using existing Tiderock Composites marine tooling. Building on earlier smaller-scale prototype work by Extremis, the program is expected to produce a full-scale prototype hull and deck structure that will be evaluated for weight, manufacturing cycle time, structural performance and cost against conventionally manufactured equivalents. Tiderock Composites brings marine engineering experience, existing tooling and access to a marine customer for evaluation. Results of the program will inform whether, and on what terms, the companies pursue further work, including survivability applications for unmanned maritime and ground systems.

Protecting the Warfighter by Removing the Warfighter from Harm’s Way

A long-term focus of the collaboration is one of the defining priorities of modern defense: protecting the warfighter by reducing the need to place soldiers directly in harm’s way. Militaries are rapidly expanding the use of unmanned and autonomous systems for reconnaissance, logistics, resupply, casualty evacuation, breaching and other missions in contested environments. As these platforms take on missions that once required soldiers, the survivability of the platforms themselves becomes mission-critical.

The objective is straightforward: remove the soldier from unnecessary risk, and make the system sent forward in the soldier’s place capable of surviving long enough to accomplish its mission.

Unmanned platforms increasingly carry critical sensors, communications, power systems, weapons and other mission-essential payloads. Protecting those systems while preserving payload capacity, mobility, range and endurance requires a fundamentally different approach than bolting conventional armor onto an existing vehicle. Extremis’ technology is designed to enable ballistic protection to become part of the structural architecture of the platform itself – combining structure and survivability with the objective of substantially reducing the weight associated with conventional protection systems.

For unmanned ground vehicles in particular, the companies intend to explore modular structural protection architectures intended to shield propulsion, electronics, communications, sensors and mission payloads while preserving mobility and useful payload capacity. Protection could be configured as modular, replaceable structural sections, potentially allowing damaged components to be exchanged rapidly and returning a platform to service without rebuilding the vehicle. The same lightweight structural approach has potential applications across autonomous vehicles, unmanned aerial systems, unmanned maritime platforms and other defense systems where weight, structural integrity and survivability directly affect mission outcomes.

A Market Moving Decisively Toward Lightweight Protection and Unmanned Systems

Demand signals across both of the collaboration’s target markets are clear and publicly documented:

Lightweight armor is now a stated procurement priority. On September 11, 2025, the U.S. Army’s Program Executive Office Soldier awarded $65.5 million to two suppliers for 72,179 Lightweight Small Arms Protective Inserts specified to be approximately 30% lighter than the current Enhanced Small Arms Protective Insert (ESAPI) Generation III, with delivery required by March 2027.¹ Extremis’ standalone Level IV SC3 plate already weighs 5.9 pounds – 17% to 35% lighter than comparable commercially available Level IV plates at the same thickness, according to the company’s published comparisons.

Unmanned ground systems have moved from experiment to operations. Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense reported that its unmanned ground vehicles completed more than 100,000 frontline missions between January 1 and August 20, 2026 – primarily logistics and casualty evacuation – and that the country contracted more than 22,000 additional UGVs during 2026, with its Defense Minister stating that 100% of frontline logistics should be performed by robotic systems.² ³

Both underlying markets are large and growing. Independent research firms estimate the global body armor market at approximately $3.2 billion in 2026, growing to $4.7 billion by 2033,⁴ and the military unmanned ground vehicle market at approximately $2.1 billion in 2026, growing to $3.1 billion by 2031.⁵ The companies believe lightweight, structurally integrated survivability sits at the intersection of both trends.

Proven Technology, Real-World Deployments

Extremis’ expansion into unmanned survivability builds on an established technology platform that has undergone extensive independent ballistic testing and is currently manufactured and deployed with law-enforcement customers. The company’s NEOZANT™ proprietary polymer is engineered to distribute ballistic energy laterally across the panel, contributing to reduced back-face deformation, multi-hit resilience and stable performance across an operating range of -100°F to 250°F.

The platform’s adaptability is a key advantage: the same underlying technology can be engineered into different sizes, geometries and threat configurations, enabling Extremis to rapidly adapt its survivability architecture across a broad range of platforms without developing an entirely new materials system for each vehicle. Extremis’ existing portfolio spans Level IV body armor (including the Valkyrie™ line, engineered specifically for women), Level IV vehicle armor weighing less than 8 pounds per square foot, the Athena™ and Tomahawk™ helmet lines, and the Juggernaut™ Level IV ballistic shield. Those products serve as commercial proof points for a broader materials and manufacturing platform that Extremis believes can be engineered into the structure of vehicles and unmanned systems rather than being limited to conventional add-on armor.

Aerospace-Grade Manufacturing at Scale

Tiderock Composites brings the manufacturing foundation that turns engineered solutions into repeatable production. The company’s composite manufacturing heritage extends more than two decades across aerospace, rail, automotive, marine, bus and coach, leisure and industrial applications. Its capabilities include composite design and development, tooling and mold manufacturing, prototyping, resin transfer molding, vacuum infusion, VARTM, hand layup, CNC processing, robotic trimming and drilling, 3D scanning and reverse engineering, assembly and finishing.

Tiderock Composites’ manufacturing history includes long-running programs for major aerospace and rail OEMs and the production of more than 120,000 composite aerospace seating units installed in aircraft around the world. Its operations have also manufactured lightweight marine hulls, automotive components, rail interiors and other complex composite structures, and its aircraft seating components have achieved FAR/CS 25.853 flammability certification.

The collaboration is intended to extend advanced composites beyond their traditional role as lightweight structural materials toward multifunctional systems in which structure, protection and mission performance are engineered together.

Management Commentary

“This collaboration is the clearest expression yet of what the Company is becoming,” said William Waldrop, Chief Executive Officer of Tiderock Companies. “We told our shareholders the Company would concentrate on advanced manufacturing and bring our UK capabilities to the United States through strategic and distribution partnerships. Extremis is exactly the kind of partner that strategy was designed for: differentiated technology, real deployments with demanding customers, and a market that is being pulled forward by the simple fact that every pound of weight removed from a soldier or a platform is a pound of capability returned.”

“Tiderock Composites has spent two decades turning complex composite designs into certified, production-scale products for some of the most exacting customers in aerospace and rail,” Waldrop continued. “Pairing that discipline with Extremis’ survivability technology gives us a credible path from an identified requirement to an engineered, manufacturable and scalable solution.”

“Protecting the warfighter is ultimately what drives this opportunity,” said Robert Comizio, Chief Executive Officer of Extremis Systems. “If autonomous systems can perform dangerous missions instead of soldiers, we should be doing everything possible to enable that transition. But sending an unmanned platform forward is only part of the solution. That platform must also be capable of surviving long enough to complete its mission. Our objective is to bring the same lightweight survivability advantages we have already proven and commercially deployed into the rapidly evolving unmanned systems market.”

“What makes this collaboration particularly compelling is that we are bringing together two established capabilities,” Comizio continued. “Extremis brings proven survivability technology, real-world deployments and the ability to rapidly engineer that technology across different platforms and threat requirements. Tiderock brings deep composite engineering, tooling and production experience that complements our own manufacturing capabilities and can accelerate how quickly we bring new structural applications to market. Our own smaller prototype gave us early proof of the process. The next step is a full-scale structure built and evaluated with an established industry manufacturer, and Tiderock Composites gives us exactly that: proven tooling, an experienced marine team and a path to evaluation with a real customer. We will let the results guide what comes next.”

The companies share a common objective: to use advanced lightweight materials and manufacturing to make the systems protecting the warfighter more survivable, more capable and more effective.

About Tiderock Companies, Inc.

Tiderock Companies, Inc. (OTC PINK:TDRK) is a Nevada-incorporated, publicly traded holding company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, focused on advanced manufacturing. The Company’s strategy is to build a diversified advanced-manufacturing group anchored by its UK operating subsidiary, Tiderock Composites Ltd., and to extend those engineering, tooling and production capabilities into the United States and other markets through strategic partnerships, distribution relationships and selective acquisitions in sectors – including defense, unmanned systems, aerospace, rail and marine – where lightweight, high-performance structures provide a decisive advantage. The Company is led by an executive team with more than three decades of public-company, capital-markets and industrial operating experience. Tiderock Companies reports under the OTC Markets Alternative Reporting Standard. The Company has filed to change its name to Aloros Corporation, subject to FINRA review. For more information, visit www.tiderockcompanies.com.

About Tiderock Composites Ltd.

Tiderock Composites Ltd. is a UK-based advanced composites engineer and manufacturer located in Coningsby, Lincolnshire, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Tiderock Companies, Inc. With a manufacturing heritage spanning more than two decades, the company specializes in high-quality phenolic, epoxy and polyester glass-fiber and carbon-fiber reinforced composite components for aerospace, rail, automotive, marine, bus and coach, leisure and industrial customers. Its integrated capabilities run from composite design and development, tooling and mold manufacture and prototyping through resin transfer molding, vacuum infusion, VARTM and hand layup, CNC processing, robotic trimming and drilling, 3D scanning and reverse engineering, and full assembly and finishing. The company’s track record includes more than 120,000 composite aerospace seating units flying worldwide, long-running interior and refurbishment programs for major rail operators, and lightweight hull and structural production for marine builders. Its aircraft seating components carry FAR/CS 25.853 flammability certification, and the company operates a documented quality management system aligned to ISO 9001. Tiderock Composites operates from a multi-unit production facility in Coningsby under a long-term lease. For more information, visit www.tiderockcomposites.com.

About Extremis Systems

Extremis Systems, a subsidiary of NZT Group, Inc., is a Sacramento, California-based survivability and advanced-materials company developing lightweight structural and ballistic protection solutions for law enforcement, military and first-responder customers. The company’s proprietary NEOZANT™ polymer, integrated with carbon fiber and advanced ceramics, forms a composite materials platform engineered to manage ballistic energy laterally across the panel, delivering exceptional strength-to-weight performance, reduced back-face deformation, multi-hit resilience and stable performance across extreme temperatures. Extremis products – including Level IV body armor, the Valkyrie™ body armor line engineered specifically for women, the Athena™ and Tomahawk™ helmets, the Juggernaut™ Level IV ballistic shield and Level IV vehicle armor weighing less than 8 pounds per square foot – have undergone extensive independent ballistic testing and are manufactured and deployed with law-enforcement customers. Extremis is working to extend its technology platform into structural survivability solutions for unmanned ground, aerial and maritime systems. For more information, visit www.extremissystems.com.

Sources

¹ U.S. Army, “Army awards $65.5 million contract to Hardwire LLC and Leading Technology Composites, Inc. for Lightweight Small Arms Protective Plates,” September 2025 (army.mil).

² The Defense Post, “Ukraine Uses Ground Robots for 100,000 Frontline Missions,” August 25, 2026, citing Ukraine Ministry of Defense data.

³ Defense News, “Ukraine to field 25,000 ground robots in push to replace soldiers for frontline logistics,” April 24, 2026.

⁴ Grand View Research, Body Armor Market Size, Share & Trends Report, 2026-2033.

⁵ Mordor Intelligence, Military Unmanned Ground Vehicle Market Size & Share Analysis, 2026-2031.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding the collaboration with Extremis Systems, the development, manufacture and commercialization of survivability products, the expected benefits of the collaboration, market size and growth estimates, the timing and completion of the Company’s name change and symbol change, and the Company’s strategy, plans and objectives, are forward-looking statements and are inherently uncertain. Such statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including, without limitation, the ability of the parties to negotiate and complete definitive agreements and achieve program milestones; the results of the initial prototype program; the outcome of independent testing, customer qualification and procurement processes; U.S. and U.K. export-control, ITAR and other regulatory requirements; the availability of financing on acceptable terms; the outcome of FINRA’s review of the Company’s corporate actions; competitive conditions; and other risks relating to the Company’s financing, regulatory and shareholder matters. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. Market and industry data cited in this release are derived from third-party sources that the Company believes to be reliable but has not independently verified. Tiderock Companies, Inc. reports under the OTC Markets Alternative Reporting Standard and is not subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Statements regarding Tiderock, its securities, financing, corporate actions and prospects are made solely by Tiderock and not by Extremis Systems or NZT Group, Inc.

Contacts

Tiderock Companies, Inc.
Investor Relations
109 Broad Street, 4th Floor, Boston, MA 02110
info@tiderockcompanies.com | 800-791-8433

Extremis Systems
Media
Media@NZTGroup.co | www.extremissystems.com

SOURCE: Tiderock Companies, Inc.

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