News
Ballistic Recovery Systems Announces Senior Management Realignment

Dec. 17, 2007, South St. Paul, MN – Ballistic Recovery Systems, manufacturer of whole-airframe parachute systems, has announced that it is realigning senior management in the company to respond to the recent growth of the company.  In the last 12 months, BRS has announced that its whole airframe parachute systems would appear in seven new airframes.

The company also announced that it had formed a significant strategic alliance with CIMSA, that it had, through the acquisition of certain assets of Head Lites Corporation, formed Advanced Tactical Fabrication (ATF) to help focus on textile fabrication operations for products both related to US Department of Defense work and civilian applications, that it has provided a parachute recovery systems to CIRA, the Italian Aerospace Research Center, and that it has established a new manufacturing facility near Ft. Bragg in North Carolina to address the growing DoD market. 

 “This is the kind of problem you look forward to having,” says BRS CEO Larry Williams. “Growing at this rate requires us to adjust our senior management team.”

 BRS will restructure its core operations to allow for implementation of a larger and realigned management structure. Chief Financial Officer Don Hedquist is stepping aside to make room for a new finance team. Gary Moore has taken the reins as Vice President of Sales & Marketing; David E. Blanchard is now the General Manager for BRS; while Norman Girdwood takes over General Manager responsibilities at the new BRS Fabrication division facility in Pinebluff, NC.

“BRS has become more of an international player this year,” Williams says, “and we only expect that to continue.  For those of us who have been working at BRS over the years, it’s wonderful to see the success of our efforts.” 

Testing is currently underway on a new, larger parachute system which is designed for installation on personal jets.  Epic Aircraft has announced it will include a BRS parachute on its new Victory jet and Diamond Aircraft has slated a parachute on its D-Jet.  These two aircraft will become the first civilian jets in history to have this remarkable safety system.

About Ballistic Recovery Systems and Advanced Tactical Fabrication

Based in South Saint Paul, Minnesota, BRS designs, manufactures, and distributes whole-airplane emergency parachute systems for general aviation and recreational aircraft. ATF (or Advanced Tactical Fabrication), a joint venture of BRS and Head Lites Corp (HLC), is a leader in the safety apparel and “cut & sew” industry. Since 1981, BRS has delivered more than 27,000 parachute systems to aircraft owners worldwide, including over 3,500 systems on FAA-certificated aircraft such as the Cirrus Design aircraft manufactured in Duluth, Minnesota.  To date, BRS parachute recovery systems have been credited with saving the lives of 207 pilots and passengers.