New designs from parachute maker Airborne Systems Inc. have driven the company to nearly double the size of its Santa Ana operation.
Since January, the New Jersey-based company has hired 140 workers, mostly people to sew parachutes for the contracts the company has with the Pentagon and NASA.
It expects to add more employees to handle expected orders from the Army, which chose two self-guided parachute systems and tapped Airborne Systems to create a replacement for its standard parachutes.
“New technology is key for making money,” said Gary Calvaneso, executive vice president of marketing for the company.
Airborne Systems was founded by Leslie Irvin, a Hollywood stuntman in the 1910s, and now is owned by London-based private equity group Alchemy Partners LLP.
Over the past three years it’s grown yearly sales about 45%, which the Business Journal estimates to be well above $100 million.
Airborne ranks No. 19 for the county’s biggest aerospace and defense employers with more than 300 workers, according to the Business Journal’s June list.
Its T-11 parachute system is slated to replace more than 50,000 of the Army’s current standard parachutes, which have been in use since the 1950s.
Despite creating a new standard for government parachutes, Airborne Systems still has to compete to be one of the government’s manufacturers.
Winning a contract to make the Army’s new standard parachute usually comes down to having the lowest bid for it, according to Calvaneso.
He declined to give an estimate for how much his company plans to bid.
Though many companies will probably have a hand in some of the manufacturing, one company is likely to get the bulk of it, he said.
Airborne Systems’ main competition comes from Mills Manufacturing Corp. in Asheville, N.C.; Pioneer Aerospace Corp. in South Windsor, Conn., which is part of France’s Groupe Zodiac; Aerostar International Inc. in Sioux Falls, S.D.; and FXC Corp.’s Guardian Parachute in Santa Ana.
The government splits its contracts up among a numbers of companies in the U.S. to keep the industry healthy, according to Calvaneso.
Airborne says it has about 30% of the market for parachutes sold in the U.S. It didn’t offer a guess on its share of the worldwide market, saying sales vary among individual governments.
The Army contract will be awarded after the Pentagon finishes testing the parachutes to make sure the design is safe for troops. The previous model caused injuries to troops carrying too much equipment.
The new design factors in heavier equipment carried by troops, like computers and body armor.
Airborne’s engineers made it so the new parachutes have a slower descent, which lightens the impact on landings. They’re designed to carry 400 pounds each, which is 40 pounds more than what the parachutes currently hold.
In Santa Ana, Airborne Systems operates two manufacturing plants. Its main site handles military parachutes, and the other is where it makes 185-foot wide parachutes for NASA.
It also has manufacturing plants in New Jersey and Canada.
Airborne is currently making parachutes for NASA’s Orion program that aims to land astronauts on the moon.
Airborne also has been busy filling an emergency order from the Pentagon for parachutes being made for the war in Afghanistan.
The special order parachutes carry GPS gear and are designed to land cargo in precise spots in difficult terrain.
They also can be dropped from high-flying planes to keep the pilots safe from ground fire, Calvaneso said.
“It’s changed the way troops in the field get supplied,” he said.
Each parachute works by using a computer to calculate wind conditions, elevation and speed to steer into its target.
The company also is making a new version of parachutes with steering capability for Special Forces soldiers.
“It’s very important for us to diversify our products and services, given the ever-changing needs of our customers,” he said.
The company is coming up on its 90th year in business, and claims to be the oldest parachute maker in the world.
Its founder, Irvin, is credited with making the first freefall jump in 1919, and his company developed the first ripcord.
In 1919, Irvin also founded the Irvin Air Chute Co., now known as Irvin Aerospace Inc., and one of the four brands that make up Airborne Systems.
The other brands are GQ Parachutes, Para-Flite and Aircraft Materials.
