Switlik Finds Golden Parachute in Life Preservers and Rafts

To anyone who hit the silk more than 30 years ago, the name Switlik Parachute is well known as a preeminent maker of the lifesaving devices.

By Nigel Moll

March 29, 2007

To anyone who hit the silk more than 30 years ago, the name Switlik Parachute is well known as a preeminent maker of the lifesaving devices. Founded in 1920, Switlik Parachute is still in business in Trenton, N.J. But old habits die hard, and the company whose name still ends with “Parachute” actually hasn’t made one since 1968. The company does, however, still administer the Caterpillar Club, membership of which is open to anyone whose life a parachute saved, and has done so since the end of World War II. Currently the club has 80,000 members, details of whom are stored in the Stanley Switlik Museum (named after the founder) within the factory in Trenton. Director of manufacturing Stanley Switlik (grandson of the founder) said that the Caterpillar Club receives mail almost every day.

It was in the 1960s that the helicopter’s ability to insert troops into a war zone severely reduced the military’s need for parachutes, so Switlik targeted inflatables as the market to pursue.

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