SKYDEX Technologies, Inc. is a global leader in impact protection and energy absorption, with over two decades of experience providing products and solutions that protect people and give their customers a true competitive advantage in the marketplace.
“We supply customers all over the world,” explains Alvaro Vaselli, President and CEO of SKYDEX. “Over the last 20 years, we’ve been exposed to all sorts of impact challenges. Our technologies, protected by over 100 patents, have helped save lives and eliminate injury in a wide range of applications.”
Across this entire range of products, the recurring theme is “Protecting People and Things That Matter®”. SKYDEX products stand between life and death, injury and no injury, enhancing its 
partners’ products and helping differentiate them in the marketplace.
“Our products are an essential part of protecting people,” Vaselli says. “Our sector strategy, based on proven differentiated technology, is driven by our passionate people, and it enables our customers to win faster in the marketplace. We believe our core technologies have lasting advantages to our customers and end users.”
The company has become known as a leading design and development partner for a range of industries, from the military to consumer products, thanks to its ability to quickly understand and dissect challenges. Entrusted by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army for over 15 years, SKYDEX’s products have protected thousands of troops on the battlefield and in rough waters. Over the past couple of years, SKYDEX has invested in a world-class testing and manufacturing facility that enables its engineering and product design team to evaluate problems and collaborate with partners, unlike anyone in the industry. This hands-on approach to innovation sets them apart from competitors, but also creates an environment that attracts and retains top internal talent.
“Our selling point is the team’s experience in quickly understanding a problem or a customer’s need and turning that concept into a testable prototype,” Vaselli says. “This allows our team to fully understand and present solutions to the real challenges our customers are facing. With extensive prototyping and manufacturing capabilities in-house, it means we can get to market faster. Speed is a key part of our value proposition.”
That speed is possible because SKYDEX can draw upon the vast, cross-industry experience of its team and its proven record of delivering large-scale projects for the U.S. Government and other programs that required rapid scalability in manufacturing. The company’s work has produced blast-mitigating mats for armoured vehicles, low profile layers for armoured plates and helmet pad systems, including their newest product disrupting the industry, the SKYDEX IsoFit® liner, impact-mitigating boat decking, and even mattresses.
The company is currently completing a large-scale installation of their completely cleanable and modular mattresses to address health and safety concerns at transient troop training facilities in light of the Covid pandemic.
“We can offer over five times the lifetime of a regular mattress in a system that can be completely sanitized between users,” Vaselli explains, “And our product is fully recyclable, contributing to the U.S. Government’s commitment to reduce waste.”
Keeping Up with Their Own Success
Like many businesses, SKYDEX has faced supply chain challenges and has weathered the consequences of the Covid pandemic. But at the same time, the company has invested in people and processes and is experiencing rapid growth. Over the last year, SKYDEX’s revenue has increased by almost 50% and it looks set to double this year.
In addition to geographic expansion, one of the key strategies over the last 3 years has been to expand internal manufacturing. Historically the company leveraged external partnerships with key
contract manufacturers to support large programs. With several capital investments, the company has now internalized over 60% of their output and can bring solutions to the marketplace much faster, allowing customers to move at the rapid pace the industry demands.
“One of the challenges before and during Covid is that we were spread out across many applications. Our technology has a broad selection of use cases,” Vaselli points out. Impact mitigation is needed everywhere. We had opportunities in many different fields, some long-term, and some short-term. We decided to focus our resources on fewer areas, going deeper and faster in those sectors.”
“The goal was to make the company more agile, more focused and we are now busier than ever.”
In deciding how to focus the business’s efforts, SKYDEX has looked to its roots as a company that exists to protect people. From novel approaches to addressing the issue of whole-body vibration on marine craft to continually expanding on the capabilities of their capstone blast mats for military vehicles, SKYDEX is focused on protecting end users from these growing and ever-changing threats.
Drawing on Experience
Our conversation with Vaselli keeps returning to the value of the institutional knowledge and innovative energy his team brings to the company.
“When I came to the company almost four years ago, my primary focus was to build the leadership team that would help take the company to the next level. I was fortunate to be able to quickly identify the young, talented and energized individuals that could be put in positions of leadership and help steer the company in the new direction,” Vaselli says. “Together, we crafted a new strategy, applied renewed focus and we are now executing with discipline in a more metric-focused environment. Supporting and empowering them, while removing any barriers that keep them from doing what they are good at, is my top priority. For me, it’s also about aligning their personal goals with those of the company. Over the years, I have learned this is a better recipe for sustainable growth.”
With that strategy in place, Vaselli is excited about the future, both in the near and long term.
“We operate in several sectors- particularly fast-growing sectors for the government,” Vaselli says. “In a world with increased geopolitical instability, our materials have gained a lot of attention in the blast and ballistics space and we see a great future in providing head-to-toe protection for our men and women in uniform.”
The company is continuing its commitment to disruptive technology that meets users’ evolving needs. The company recently launched the SKYDEX IsoFit Helmet System, which was developed to keep protective headgear in place with unmatched levels of stability, protection and comfort to the end user. Several industry players have called the company’s new system a disruptive technology and a significant evolution in the space of military and law enforcement helmets.
“Customers are delighted and lining up to test and adopt the new system. They are calling it a breakthrough technology,” Vaselli says proudly.
Beyond that, Vaselli has plans for continued geographic expansion for SKYDEX’s proven products such as blast mats, blast seats and impact-mitigating boat decking, while continuing to strive for lower costs and improved performance.
