For Switlik Survival Products, the phrase “Quality, Performance, Innovation” is more than a corporate motto: It is a way of life.
Renowned for its extremely comfortable, ultra-reliable U-Zip-It anti-exposure dry suits and X-Back constant-wear life vests, Switlik Survival Products is a family-owned American company with deep roots in its hometown of Trenton, N.J.
“My grandfather Stanley moved to America in 1907 as a 16-year-old Polish immigrant,” said Stanley Switlik II, the company’s president. (He is the third generation to work at the company, with his daughter joining a few years ago as well.) “Stanley’s decision to keep running a canvas and leather specialty manufacturing firm, that he purchased in 1920 as real estate, is what got Switlik Survival Products going.”
The 1920s aviation craze caught Stanley Switlik’s attention, and he began manufacturing pilot and gunner belts, designing flight clothing, and experimenting with parachutes. In the 1930s, his canvas/leather goods firm was refocused and renamed the Switlik Parachute & Equipment Company. It soon became the largest manufacturer of parachutes in the United States, and made custom equipment for aviation pioneers such as Amelia Earhart, Wiley Post, and Admiral Richard Byrd. (Working with his partner George P. Putnam, Switlik designed and patented the world’s first parachute jumping tower. This design is still used to train parachutists today.)
“My grandfather and our family have always adhered to delivering quality, performance and innovation in everything we make,” said Stanley Switlik II. “This is why we manufactured 2,000 parachutes a week for the U.S. Army and Navy during the Second World War.”
When parachute sales declined after the Korean War, Switlik Survival Products moved into aviation life vests for both pilots and passengers, developing the world’s first heat-sealed life vest in 1967.
“Back then, no one used heat sealing; now, everyone does,” said Switlik. This same commitment to innovation led Switlik to pioneer the development of large inflatable aircraft rafts, and to modernize cumbersome and uncomfortable exposure suits to maximize comfort while making them easy to use.
Today’s U-Zip-It exposure suit incorporates all the lessons Switlik has learned in manufacturing protective clothing for aviation and marine use. “We originally developed the U-Zip-It suit for the U.S. Coast Guard, who still use it,” said Anthony Florio, Switlik’s director of sales. “It is designed to be breathable while watertight, lightweight, and extremely comfortable.”
Indeed, the U-Zip-It’s name refers to the design of its suit-sealing zipper, which can easily be opened and closed by the wearer. Made from flame retardant, waterproof PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene, a Teflon-coated woven fiberglass material) that pulls moisture away from the skin, “this suit is designed for people who spend most of their time sitting down,” said Stanley Switlik II. “It has articulated knees, seat and elbows made from highly abrasion resistant, heavy-duty Nomex/Kevlar ripstop fabric to provide mobility without compromising durability, and can be worn with the top unzipped, so that it sits lightly around your waist.” The U-Zip-It’s design allows female wearers to go the bathroom without having to remove the entire suit–and it is designed by actual clothing designers, to be as good-looking as it is practical.
Switlik’s X-Back constant-wear aviator life vests are similarly comfortable and practical. “The X-Back design distributes the suit’s weight, and the weight of devices attached to it using MOLLE (modular lightweight load-carrying equipment) loops, to the wearer’s back and away from their neck,” said Florio. “This makes the X-Back extremely easy to wear for many hours at a time–without compromising its life-saving functionality.”
Both the U-Zip-It Suit and the X-Back have been adapted for use in other markets, as well as in the U.S. and Canada. For instance, European aviation authorities have put forth new safety regulations for offshore helicopter transportation in the North Sea. Switlik has redesigned both products to comply with the strict design and performance characteristics laid down by the European Technical Standard Order (ETSO).
“Having become a fixture in offshore helicopter operations throughout the rest of the world, Switlik seeks to use the redesigned ETSO-approved suit and vest as an entry point to gain more significant market share in Europe,” said Florio.
These and all other Switlik products are made at the company’s facilities in Trenton. “We have been a proud, committed contributor to the U.S. economy since 1920, and have never outsourced our work or jobs,” said Stanley Switlik II. “Economically, this has not been an easy choice, because our multinational competitors have no qualms about sending U.S. jobs overseas to reduce their costs. We cut ours through constant product innovation and doing things better here at home–while maintaining the loyal and multi-generational workforce who have made Switlik Survival Products the continuing success it is today. Thanks to these dedicated employees, and our own family’s passion for this business, I expect our company to keep pursuing quality, performance, and innovation for many, many years to come.”
If you would like to see your company featured in Insight, contact Derek Kast at derek@mhmpub.com.
