The Early Days of Protecting the Frontline Protectors
It was 25 years ago in 1997 in San Francisco, California, HighCom began as a provider of security products and protective equipment. As global conflicts in the early 2000s intensified, HighCom rapidly expanded into rifle armor and hard armor manufacturing and by 2010, the company expanded its headquarters and operations into a 50,000 square feet design, testing, manufacturing, and distribution space based in Columbus, Ohio.
Growth Continues in Quality, Performance & Standards
Established in 2005 and certified in 2006, HighCom Armor’s Quality Management System is ISO 9001:2015 certified and has been continuously since 2006. This certification is the ultimate stamp of approval and recognition by the International Organization of Standards, showing a full commitment to quality management. Then in 2014, HighCom became the first company in the world to receive the BA 9000 certification distinction, a quality management standard developed and published by the NIJ.
These distinctions helped pave the way for the company to raise the bar in body armor manufacturing and laid the foundation for body armor performance that exceeds the standards to the levels of protection required to save the lives of frontline operators. In fact, HighCom is one of only a few companies in the armor manufacturing industry that can say its ballistic armor has never had a penetration, recall, or failure. Not ever in the entirety of its 25 years, and that is a pretty darn impressive achievement in the body armor industry.
A true owned and operated engineering, technology, and manufacturing company, HighCom’s also possesses a sophisticated global supply chain network and has expanded to become the global body armor brand of XTEK Limited in 2019; its Australian parent company providing high-quality frontline products and tailored solutions to government agencies, law enforcement, military, space, and commercial sectors.
Today & Beyond
Today, HighCom Armor is a true leader in advanced ballistic armor manufacturing offering a full product line of military and law enforcement grade hard armor plates, ballistic shields, carriers, soft armor panels, helmets, and gear and accessories such as equipment bags, pouches and ID placards, and standing behind its extensive range of body armor and protective ballistic products, is a team possessing 80+ years of combined experience in manufacturing and its process controls, operations, R&D/engineering, supply chain oversight, ballistic testing, quality assurance, and program management provides customers with a world-class PPE knowledgebase.
Reflecting on the Past 25 Years
In an interview with HighCom’s President and CEO Mike Bundy, we had the opportunity to reflect on its past 25 years of service saving the lives of frontline operators.
Q: HighCom celebrates 25 years this year. What thoughts and emotions come to mind when you think about that?
Bundy: I am beyond humbled to be part of this incredible organization. Roughly 20% of small businesses fail in their first year and nearly 50% fail within their first five years. Many run out of cash and others simply do not have a product or service the market needs. Being involved with a small business that has been able to not only survive but thrive for 25 years and become a leader within its industry is simply, humbling.
My gratitude runs deep for the opportunity to serve our frontline protectors and work in an organization and alongside colleagues where our primary job, regardless of position or title, is to save lives! I cannot recall a time in my life I have been more excited to walk through the doors to our factory and offices on a daily basis and have an opportunity to collaborate alongside a team of professionals developing world-class protective products and the next generation of ballistic resistant platforms that will someday be responsible for saving a life of the very men and women I consider heroes!
Q: What were your visions when you started with HighCom and how has that evolved over these past years?
Bundy: My vision from day one was to serve! I wanted to serve those frontline operators in a way that would make a difference in their lives and those of their loved ones, and I feel I have accomplished this repeatedly with no lingering doubts. As I progressed in my career with HighCom, I found ways to not only serve my lifelong heroes in military and law enforcement, but also the colleagues I have helped build careers and stability for their families through employment and advancement opportunities.
Today, HighCom is a diversified and growing enterprise with facilities and team members around the world with a shared mission and goal through the advancement of science and technology on the battlefield protecting human lives from bullets and bombs. I could never have dreamed of the path I am on today and the opportunity to support such an amazing community of heroes on the frontlines in our communities and across the world.
Q: What ways has the company grown over the past 25 years?
Bundy: Our Physical Space: Our company’s first office was a small apartment in San Francisco. Next, we moved to a small but cozy office near Union Square, not too far from the apartment. Now, we occupy several spaces both office commercial and industrial factories, in the United States, Ohio, Colorado, and Adelaide, Australia. Our nearly 50,000 beautiful square feet space in Columbus, Ohio is our corporate headquarters and houses our engineering, testing, manufacturing, and distribution operations and teams.
Our Website: A website can be a work of art with the proper care and maintenance. The HighCom website has gone through many changes over the years. Thinking back to the early years of our website like many you simply want to think it was a bad dream. Our first website was as basic and non-functional as possible with a logo, static images, and an address with contact phone number. Today, we invest a significant amount of time and resources in our website to ensure we stay up to date on the latest news and resources available for our life-saving products and the support our customers need, to properly size, use, and care for those products.
Our Team: The years have been very kind to our team as we have grown from a few well-rounded operators looking to make a difference to a diverse and specialized team of professionals with skills ranging from machinists to technologists and engineers to scientists. Although we are a small operation of about 60-70 full-time personnel across the group, we have such a deep and personal connection to the very core of our business and customer base that it is about love, not work! HighCom maintains a high priority on family first and ensures our team members have a focus on what matters in their lives when it comes to these priorities. Just like the company, all our team members hold law enforcement and military in high regards for the sacrifices they make and are honored to be part of an organization so deep rooted in the pursuit of performance and trust.
Our Technology and Processes: It’s true, we started on office word and excel and still have some of those old invoices and contact lists around today. It wasn’t fancy by any means, but it kept us organized and got us paid. In retrospect, those invoices and contact lists probably didn’t instill a lot of confidence in our first customers and suppliers. Today, as our team, customers and expertise has expanded, so has our technology tools and resources. We leverage internal tools including NetSuite, Salesforce, Microsoft 365, Box, Google, Celigo, and others, which enable us to communicate, collaborate, strategize, design, engineer, manufacture, and distribute some of the world’s most advanced body armor and ballistic resistant products.
Q: What are some of the greatest accomplishments HighCom has experienced?
Bundy: There is really one accomplishment that is a constant in our workplace. Imagine a story like this breaking… A police officer was shot while responding to a call. A citizen called in a report of an erratic driver, almost striking a pedestrian near the mall parking garage. Police located the vehicle a short time later parked in a nearby backyard. Police officers secured the perimeter and were met with gunfire as the suspect appeared in a second story window. One of the suspect’s bullets struck the officer’s armor in the lower right abdomen. The suspect then proceeded to exit the front door and continued to fire at officers. The officer suffered minor injuries and returned fire, ending the suspects rampage, and saving other officers’ livese in the process. This police officer’s life was spared by his armor. He returned home safely to his wife and three small children. We are grateful to not be mourning the death of another hero. Please always make sure you wear your vest. Now, close your eyes and imagine this officer wearing body armor you designed and made right here in America!
Q: What is your favorite part of your role with HighCom?
Bundy: There is one thing above all else that I love about my role with the company; the opportunity to collaborate at every level of the organization on the small and big details that matter to team members, customers, and suppliers impacting our business. I love the collaboration with our sales and marketing team and being involved in decisions that will help get the right products to market and ensure our prices are competitive, and the look and feel is precisely what operators in the field want and need.
Working with our operations and manufacturing teams on quality initiatives and factory related equipment and process improvement drives my passion for continual improvement. These people are the fabric of an organization that cares more about a stranger than anyone I have met in my life. The work and energy I encounter on the concrete floor of our Ohio manufacturing facility is unlike anywhere I have ever stepped foot in.
Of course, I love the opportunity to work alongside such a talented design, engineering, and technology team as well. The men and women of our organization that care about little things like the placement of a zipper or buckle or layer of woven fabric to ensure not only does a product protect, but can it look and feel good during long deployments really make you slow down and appreciate the little details that go into standards and procedural improvement.
Q: What does the next 25 years look like for HighCom Amor? In what ways do you expect to grow?
Bundy: Well, if history has shown us anything, we are in for an exciting next 25 years with the advancement of technology starting to really come into its own when it comes to material science. Thinner, lighter, stronger materials are at the core of what HighCom does and we are eager to experience growth in current and emerging markets. End uses that we never dreamed of are just around the corner and the evolving ballistic resistance space is in its infancy when it comes to applications far beyond physical protective purposes.
HighCom is dedicated to advancements in areas of ballistic resistance and will explore all opportunities for the design and manufacturing of these products for purposes of protecting people, property, and infrastructure wherever that may lead.
Q: Anything special HighCom has planned to commemorate its 25 years this year and beyond?
Bundy: HighCom has some great things happening this year to celebrate 25 years. We will be launching several initiatives around support in the law enforcement and military communities for officers and their families as well as plans for new products launching in 2022 along with many new resources online and in person around the country and through agents and partners globally. I do not want to give away too much, but I can assure you the amount of donations including products and swag is going to be insane. I mean, you only turn 25 once!
Happy Anniversary and 25 years of service HighCom Armor! It is well deserved!
For more information about HighCom Armor, check out the About Us page. You can visit the How to Buy page to purchase from one of HighCom’s Partner Dealers. If you are interested in selling HighCom Armor products or becoming an exclusive member of our Partner Network, please submit via Contact Us or email [email protected].
