(May 26, 2016) Pocomoke City, Worcester County and the state have all joined to invest in Hardwire LLC, a firm that specializes in armor for vehicles, aircraft, personnel, boats and structures, to the tune of about $100,000. But as chairman and CEO George Tunis put it, this is just the beginning.
“We’re going to end up investing around $3 million” in support of both existing and new products, Tunis said.
As with many other businesses and industries on the lower shore, Hardwire’s business is cyclical, he said. It just happens that Hardwire runs on a different cycle than the real estate, tourist and agricultural markets.
“The military market is turning back on. We were focused on the urgent need in Iraq and Afghanistan. We would make products and ship them right to the front lines,” Tunis said.
With major military operations in those areas either winding down or over, demand naturally decreased. Hardwire shifted to diversify product lines, making bulletproof whiteboards, clipboards and “the lightest body armor found anywhere,” Tunis said.
The market has recovered somewhat, Tunis said, and the company’s focus shifted again. This time the company would be looking at domestic applications of their technology, taking wartime experience and applying it to calmer times.
“We’ve found as we’ve gone along it takes about a decade to launch a new product. One of the more exciting projects we’ve done relatively recently is currently in a pilot program in New York City,” Tunis said.
Hardwire’s bulletproof shielding is being used on 60 cars of the NYPD’s fleet to test its effectiveness and utility.
“These 60 cars are in the worst crime areas of the city — it’s just a coffee grinder for cars. They wreck three per week,” Tunis said. “The city eats them alive.”
Tunis said Hardwire is developing armor that is quickly and easily deployed without tools or assistance. He said the goal is to deploy armor that can be installed by one person in less than 10 minutes.
“Whether it’s the human body or a bridge, you need it to be lightweight and stop an attack. Weight and constructability are always a factor. We use the Lego analogy often — we build all the pieces and parts,” he said.
Those pieces and parts are for more than just show. One problem with older iterations, Tunis said, is delamination — transparent portions of armor fogging up with age. Instead of replacing an entire door, just the offending piece can be replaced.
“We’re working on ways to fix that glass, which is a very big problem for the Army and Marines, but we’re bursting at the seams. The diversity of our products takes a lot of floor space. We’re expanding into the facility on Broad Street to support a big operation,” he said.
Tunis said he’s often asked why he would locate in Pocomoke City.
“Why not Pocomoke? We love Pocomoke City. Our business is national and international, so it doesn’t really matter where we set up,” he said. “Pocomoke, as a town, is a gem in the rough.”
He said he sees it often.
“We usually come in early and often don’t leave until the sun goes down. We work a lot — and sometimes when I leave I see the sun set over the river and think I live in a post card. People tell me I live in a post card,” Tunis said.
“We’re going to end up investing around $3 million” in support of both existing and new products, Tunis said.
As with many other businesses and industries on the lower shore, Hardwire’s business is cyclical, he said. It just happens that Hardwire runs on a different cycle than the real estate, tourist and agricultural markets.
“The military market is turning back on. We were focused on the urgent need in Iraq and Afghanistan. We would make products and ship them right to the front lines,” Tunis said.
With major military operations in those areas either winding down or over, demand naturally decreased. Hardwire shifted to diversify product lines, making bulletproof whiteboards, clipboards and “the lightest body armor found anywhere,” Tunis said.
The market has recovered somewhat, Tunis said, and the company’s focus shifted again. This time the company would be looking at domestic applications of their technology, taking wartime experience and applying it to calmer times.
“We’ve found as we’ve gone along it takes about a decade to launch a new product. One of the more exciting projects we’ve done relatively recently is currently in a pilot program in New York City,” Tunis said.
Hardwire’s bulletproof shielding is being used on 60 cars of the NYPD’s fleet to test its effectiveness and utility.
“These 60 cars are in the worst crime areas of the city — it’s just a coffee grinder for cars. They wreck three per week,” Tunis said. “The city eats them alive.”
Tunis said Hardwire is developing armor that is quickly and easily deployed without tools or assistance. He said the goal is to deploy armor that can be installed by one person in less than 10 minutes.
“Whether it’s the human body or a bridge, you need it to be lightweight and stop an attack. Weight and constructability are always a factor. We use the Lego analogy often — we build all the pieces and parts,” he said.
Those pieces and parts are for more than just show. One problem with older iterations, Tunis said, is delamination — transparent portions of armor fogging up with age. Instead of replacing an entire door, just the offending piece can be replaced.
“We’re working on ways to fix that glass, which is a very big problem for the Army and Marines, but we’re bursting at the seams. The diversity of our products takes a lot of floor space. We’re expanding into the facility on Broad Street to support a big operation,” he said.
Tunis said he’s often asked why he would locate in Pocomoke City.
“Why not Pocomoke? We love Pocomoke City. Our business is national and international, so it doesn’t really matter where we set up,” he said. “Pocomoke, as a town, is a gem in the rough.”
He said he sees it often.
“We usually come in early and often don’t leave until the sun goes down. We work a lot — and sometimes when I leave I see the sun set over the river and think I live in a post card. People tell me I live in a post card,” Tunis said.