Since our founding in 2001, we have consistently expanded our competencies, developed new products and moved into new markets through forward-thinking acquisitions, investment in our people, our facilities and our equipment, and by imagining what others have not. At Galvion, we embrace an entrepreneurial mindset and foster the flexibility of a ‘small’ company, while amassing the capabilities, deep market knowledge, user insights and understandings of a much larger company. This unique balance is what drives us to go beyond the obvious in order to provide innovative solutions that empower the missions of our end users. It is also what makes us a trusted development partner for military, government, industry and academia alike.
THOUGHT LEADERS, SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS, AND SCIENTIFIC EXPLORERS
Innovation is in our DNA; it’s the foundation of our growth strategy. Our Research & Development team includes industry experts from a wide range of fields and pursuits, including physics, chemistry, advanced materials research, aerospace, ballistics, polymer chemistry, mechanical engineering, advanced laser research, industrial machine design, lean manufacturing and composite manufacturing. Our scientists have published hundreds of research papers; our thought leaders and subject matter experts moderate, present and participate in conferences regularly; we hold hundreds of patents and the weight of this history, expertise and knowledge is behind each new project we partner on, every program we win and deliver and any new product that Galvion develops.
BETTER PRODUCTS, SHORTER DEVELOPMENT TIMES
Galvion’s commitment to nimble teams and hands-on development have lead us to invest in prototyping and simulation processes that are critical to the development and eventual commercialization of any new product or technology. Our development teams imagine it, our design teams conceptualize it, our prototyping team makes it. We use cutting-edge software to create extremely accurate CAD drawings that are translated into 3-D models via Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM). Using advanced algorithms, 3-D drawings are scanned with exacting detail and printed into full-size thermoplastic product replicas. The full-scale models are then reviewed by our design and Human Factors teams for analysis and integration testing and sent back with revisions and improvements until we have a production quality prototype.
This prototype undergoes rigorous validation testing in our in-house labs, as well as by end-users in real life scenarios. Each round of evaluation feeds back into this design loop, and only after all these hurdles are cleared—exhaustive user trials and conclusive quality assurance and lab authentication—can a product move on to full-scale manufacturing. Every Galvion product—from our Batlskin® head systems to Nerv Centr® power management solutions, to every advanced concept development project that we undertake — goes through this comprehensive iterative approach to design. Adherence to and refinement of this process allows Galvion to create sophisticated, advanced products. Owning and managing all the steps of this process in-house allows us to bring them to market faster.
OUR FOREMOST CONSIDERATION: USER EXPERIENCE
We live by one absolute principal: Enhance the effectiveness of soldiers, law enforcement and tactical personnel, and other demanding users through superior protection and innovation. The technical performance of our protective gear is without compromise – but for Galvion, our focus is on active, performance-enhancing equipment – making the operator faster, lighter and more connected than ever before. The ultimate goal is for protective gear to be the last line of defense, rather than the first. We continually engage with our end-users in order to proactively find ways to improve our existing products, but perhaps more importantly to understand the constantly changing needs and demands they face on their respective missions. We consult them throughout the development process, we field equipment to them for training exercises and we engage with them after they purchase our products. It is these relationships that drive our product development process, and inform where we invest and expand our capabilities.
Similarly, recruiting and hiring men and women with military and tactical experience is one of our core commitments. Throughout the company, we rely on these team members to provide insight and unique perspectives on exactly how equipment will be used, the ways in which it will interact with other gear, the environment and the soldier. The winning combination of our internal subject matter experts and our extensive and consistent external user trials, evaluations and engagement not only ensures that our designs are applicable and reliable in real world situations, but that a Galvion solution truly enhances operator effectiveness in the field.
CUTTING-EDGE DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING, ADVANCED R&D, TOTAL CONTROL OF THE PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE
The Galvion team works collaboratively across our multiple ISO 9001-2015 certified facilities to design, develop and manufacture our best-in-class solutions. We have built a broad international reputation as a team that is as committed to the mission as those out in the field – our 400+ employees know that we have a part to play in empowering these missions, and getting these operators home safely. The work we do across our state-of-the art facilities, no matter the department, contributes to us fulfilling that objective through each phase of the product life cycle, from inception through design, development, testing and ultimately manufacturing. We work as a team, with each site having its own specialties, focus and core aptitudes.
HUB FOR INDUSTRIAL DESIGN (MONTREAL, CANADA)
Industrial Design, Human Factors, Rapid Prototyping, and Information Technology programs are centralized in Galvion’s Corporate and Design Headquarters in Montreal, Canada. Our Montreal facility tackles product and equipment design conceptualizing, development, and fine-tuning, including comprehensive and advanced CAD imaging; Fused Deposition Modeling; rapid, full-scale prototyping; Human Factors review; and validation and quality control testing in the ISO 17025 lab and ballistic range. This facility is also a home for contract support, including refurbishment, limited and short-run production, and original equipment manufacturer programs. The exhaustive, resourceful development frameworks that have come to define Galvion’s leading-edge R&D programs and product advancements are realized here in Montreal.
INDUSTRY LEADING ARMOR AND HELMET MANUFACTURING (NEWPORT, VERMONT)
Galvion’s Newport facility is the primary site for helmet and armor production and manufacturing, taking point on such major programs as US Coast Guard, UK VIRTUS, and next generation Dutch helmet system production. We continue to invest heavily in helmet system production, upgrading and expanding this facility dramatically to a state-of-the-art manufacturing site flexible enough to adapt to a wide range of customer demand and order profiles. Between 2013 and 2016, the Newport facility expanded by 16,000 sq. ft. and the number of employees that work at this facility more than doubled.
Our Newport facility hosts a full-spectrum of manufacturing—from traditional aramid helmets to high-tech polyethylene, as well as hybridized, advanced materials applications— and is firmly focused on quality and efficient manufacturing processes. In keeping with our custom end-to-end development philosophy, the Newport facility has in-house testing and quality assurance labs to monitor the full manufacturing and production process—from dimension and weight validation through to compression and impact testing. With a dedicated workforce capable of shifting between single orders and major, high-volume contracts, this facility continues to implement production and manufacturing processes to boost yield, capacity, and efficiency considerably.
DISMOUNTED SOLDIER POWER SOLUTIONS (MARLBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS)
Specializing in portable power and data management technologies, our Marlborough team has amassed considerable experience delivering innovative solutions for a wide range of user applications—including power provision, management and scavenging - to high-profile customers, such as the U.S. Army, as well as many international military organizations. This facility provides a significant boost to our established engineering and power development capabilities, positioning us to continue our mission to provide integrated power and data solutions that ultimately enhance demanding operators’ survivability.
ADVANCED CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT CENTRE (PORTSMOUTH, NEW HAMPSHIRE)
Galvion’s Advanced Concept Development (ACD) division, located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, exemplifies our commitment to turn the most forward-thinking concepts into reality and get them into the hands of the warfighter. Our team of mechanical, electrical, software and digital signal engineers, program managers and human scientists lead the charge to explore, develop and iterate fully integrated, active solutions for the warfighter. Strategically located close to a thriving ecosystem of partners in industry, government, private laboratories and academia, our ACD cell is at the forefront in our mission to increase the survivability of the soldier through power and data integration for enhanced situational awareness – the right information at the right time in the right way, every time. Our ACD team pulls together the thought leaders and subject-matter experts of Galvion and works to bridge the gap between what users have today and what will be needed tomorrow.
