The advanced technologies and product lines that make up Gentex Corporation today are drawn from its lineage, its predecessor company more than a century ago when it was one of the United States’ largest manufacturers of silk fabric. The ability to weave textiles eventually spawned more sophisticated technologies and helped to create entirely new ones. Today, Gentex Corporation is an integrated life support systems company for human protection and for enhanced human performance during periods of intense environmental exposures. Pilots traveling at twice the speed of sound, where their bodies undergo the extreme forces of nine times the pull of gravity ... ground forces, the land warriors of the 21st century, in high tech deadly combat ... fire fighters enduring the intense heat of high wind - driven forest fires -- protected by Gentex products, they can survive and they can perform. Their performance is possible because of Gentex technologies they wear. These are high technology products designed to perform on demand, and to not only protect the wearer, but to allow him or her to operate under extreme conditions. From the pilot’s helmet and his respiratory equipment to the ballistic helmets of ground troops, as well as their chemical protective garments; the equipment is designed to work on demand every time. There are six operating units that make up Gentex Corporation, all of them interrelated: Life Support, Fabricated Products, Textiles, Gentex West (Respiratory Products), Electro-Acoustic Products and P∏ (precision polymer processing). Gentex recently entered into a joint venture to form Lifetex, a new and separate operating unit. One of the major markets for Gentex is defense, both U.S. Armed Forces and the military units of numerous other nations. But Gentex also produces commercial products, developed as a by-product of technologies created for military uses. The company’s extensive research and development efforts are designed to serve both military and civilian applications. Weaving Technology Over 100 Years Gentex’s genesis is the silk industry, going back to the 19th century when a forerunner opened as a silk throwster in New York City. Following a fire in 1894, the re-named Klots Throwing Company reopened in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, eventually to become one of the country’s largest silk weaving companies, operating mills throughout the Northeast. After the start of the Great Depression and the introduction of rayon, the silk industry ran aground. Marcus Frieder, president and general manager of Klots, bought the company with his son Leonard P. Frieder and reorganized it in 1932. The company was renamed General Textile Mills. It was shortened to Gentex in 1958. During World War II the company manufactured parachutes for the U.S. military. The parachute boxes Gentex also manufactured were of a laminated construction to protect the parachutes. This led to the helmet technology. After the war the new jet aircraft required better protective headgear for its pilots. The development of high performance aviator helmets created the need for optically precise visors, leading to Gentex's polycarbonate technology. The helmets required communications equipment, which fostered the Electro-Acoustics Group.Oxygen breathing masks for life support was another step towards the company’s current ability to produce totally integrated systems for tactical applications. Today, Gentex is the world’s largest supplier of aircrew and tank crew helmets. The company never abandoned its original technology of weaving. Today it supplies a variety of engineered fabrics from aluminized textiles to exotic composites for ballistic protection. For more than 100 years the company has been based in the same city. Since the 1932 reorganization, the company has had three presidents, Marcus Frieder, his son Leonard and since 1972, L. Peter Frieder Jr., son of Leonard and grandson of Marcus. The historical element missing from Gentex today is the roll of silk. The company no longer weaves silk, but its old technology has spun off innovative and diverse technologies and products. © Gentex Electro-Acoustic Products · 5 Tinkham Avenue, Derry, NH 03038, USA Tel: (800) 258-3554, (603) 434-0311 · Fax: (603) 434-3002