Switlik Parachute Company, Inc.

Switlik Parachute Company, Inc., a family-owned small business manufacturer headquartered in Trenton, New Jersey, supplies inflatable safety and survival equipment to federal maritime, aviation, and defense agencies as a prime contractor on a portfolio totaling $273.3 million in combined potential value across 2,037 prime awards. The company does not compete under SBA set-asides; it wins predominantly on full-and-open procurements across firm fixed-price purchase orders, delivery orders, and blanket purchase agreement calls, with a smaller share of Total Small Business set-aside awards reflecting the company's qualification as a small business.

Switlik manufactures a concrete product portfolio centered on aircrew and maritime protective gear: drysuits and anti-exposure suits (U-ZIP-IT, CWU-86/P, CWU-87/P models), inflatable life rafts (POD-8, offshore passenger raft, inflatable single-place variants), life preserver vests and related covers, anti-gravity garments (13B/P cutaway configuration), modular load-carrying equipment (MOLLE) vests, flyer's anti-exposure socks and wrist seals, auto-inflator kits, chemical pills for life support systems, flotation bladders, and repair services on existing equipment. Representative prime work includes a $4.18 million delivery order from the Defense Logistics Agency Clothing and Textiles division in September 2024 for anti-G garments; a $2.22 million delivery order in the same division in September 2024 for anti-G garments; a $1.73 million delivery order from DLA Clothing and Textiles in July 2026 for anti-G garments (cutaway, 13B/P); an $8.67 million single-award Blanket Purchase Agreement with the U.S. Coast Guard awarded December 2025 covering U-ZIP-IT anti-exposure suits, MOLLE vests, offshore passenger rafts, and POD-8 life rafts through December 2030; a $13.6 million single-award Indefinite Delivery Contract with DLA Clothing and Textiles awarded November 2025 for flyers' coveralls through November 2030; and a $899 thousand single-award Indefinite Delivery Contract with DLA Clothing and Textiles awarded June 2025 for flyer's anti-exposure socks through June 2030. Repair and inspection services are also routine: a $7,920 repair contract with the Coast Guard in January 2025 for dry suit services, and a $9,570 Coast Guard contract in June 2025 for life raft inspection, modification, and recertification.

The vendor's customer concentration is acute and asymmetric. The top five customers account for 74% of recent award count, but the top four by potential value account for 95% of dollars. The Defense Logistics Agency Clothing and Textiles division dominates by potential value at $155.4 million across 134 awards, while the Coast Guard leads by award frequency with 888 awards worth $38.5 million combined potential value. DLA Troop Support Construction and Equipment contributes 303 awards valued at $43.6 million. The concentration reflects Switlik's specialization in aircraft crew and maritime protective systems — a narrow but deep federal customer base. The top five customers cover 74% of award count: Coast Guard (888 awards), DLA Construction and Equipment (303), DLA Clothing and Textiles (134), DLA (89), and Department of the Navy (88), though the Navy ranking by count masks its lower potential value relative to DLA Clothing and Textiles.

Switlik's parent vehicle footprint centers on the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS), with 688 task orders valued at $36.3 million — the predominant vehicle for Coast Guard and DLA purchase orders and delivery orders. Two single-award IDCs account for most of the larger work: DLA Clothing and Textiles Indefinite Delivery Contract SPE1C119D1190 carries 16 task orders worth $6.6 million, and SPE1C116D1011 shows 15 task orders valued at $7.9 million. A Blanket Purchase Agreement designated HSCG3806A500026 (the Coast Guard's December 2025 award) shows 43 task orders worth $522 thousand to date, though this vehicle's full five-year ceiling of $8.67 million extends through December 2030. These vehicles are the operational arteries of Switlik's federal business: the Coast Guard BPA and the two DLA IDCs funnel the majority of high-value work.

Recent activity has grown year over year from a baseline of 56 awards in 2022 to 89 in 2025, though 2026 year-to-date shows 35 awards (reflecting incomplete calendar year capture at the cutoff of October 15, 2026). Eleven awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, carrying a combined potential value of $6.4 million—a modest recompete cliff that suggests stable renewal demand rather than concentration risk. The vendor's invoiced revenue across all federal sources totaled $201.2 million (74% of combined potential value), indicating strong cash conversion and collections.

Switlik's subcontractor footprint is negligible: only five sub-awards appear in the source across a 2,037-award prime portfolio, representing less than 0.25% of activity. Named subs are The Boeing Company (F-15 foreign military sales aerospace support, January 2025), KBR Wyle Services LLC (two awards for systems analysis on autonomous vehicle engineering for Army GVSC, 2023–2024), and Atlantic Diving Supply, Inc. (one award for Navy transport life preserver supply, January 2024). The sub work is incidental to the core business; Switlik operates predominantly as a prime manufacturer rather than as a subcontractor to aerospace primes.

Category concentration by NAICS and PSC underscores Switlik's narrow specialization. The top NAICS codes are Other Apparel Accessories and Other Apparel Manufacturing (741 awards), All Other Rubber Product Manufacturing (234), Men's and Boys' Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing (118), Surgical Appliance and Supplies Manufacturing (112), and Other Aircraft Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing (87). The top PSCs are Marine Lifesaving and Diving Equipment (638 awards), Specialized Flight Clothing and Accessories (441), Clothing Special Purpose (306), Safety and Rescue Equipment (163), and Parachutes and Aerial Recovery Systems (91). This concentration reflects that Switlik manufactures sewn and heat-sealed inflatable protective textiles and equipment components—a highly specialized supply node serving only defense and Coast Guard customers.

CURRENTLY MANUFACTURING IN NSN1670, NSN4220, AND NSN8475. SEWN PRODUCTS AND INFLATABLE PRODUCTS INCLUDING HEAT SEALED. ALL TYPES OF SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT.