The company's technology has been so effective and the need so great that Skydex Technologies (Centennial, CO), which outfits soldiers with protective products made from twin-sheet thermoformed thermoplastic urethanes (TPUs), has opened a regional marketing and sales office in Kabul, Afghanistan. Skydex has formed a partnership with Parks Global Solutions LLC (PGS) in Kabul to better supply its impact mitigation, blast-limiting, and vibration-attenuation products for military and commercial applications. [Read more about Skydex's technology].

Skydex convoy floor decking

Skydex CEO Mike Buchen noted that the Colorado-based company is a long ways from the theaters of combat in the middle east. "Having our products on the ground near the troops allows us to get them the protective gear they need almost immediately."

Skydex products currently in use in Afghanistan include helmet pads, body armor, and seat cushions, as well as blast-mitigating convoy floor decking that has been installed on thousands of MRAP vehicles, including the Oshkosh M-ATV and Buffalo, Cougar, and Stryker vehicles.

Skydex says independent testing to NATO standards shows that at a typical blast force of 12 meters per second, personnel aboard an armored vehicle without its convoy deck face a 100% chance of injury. Adding Skydex decking reduces the chance of injury to about 10%. The company says it has fielded more than 100,000 helmet pad sets to the Afghan National Army as well as over 150,000 sets to U.S. and allied troops.