Warwick Mills Makes History:
From Textile Manufacturing to Materials Science

1870
Founded.

Focus on cotton-based textiles.

1888 top
Incorporated.

Five locations: Jaffrey, Greenville, and New Ipswich, NH; Warwick, RI; and Maine. (Current New Ipswich headquarters is the site of the oldest operating textile mill in New Hampshire.)

Denim weaving begins.

1935 top
Warwick Mills weaves the material used for the high-altitude helium weather balloon sponsored by National Geographic and the U.S. Army Air Corps: The Explorer II was designed to study conditions in the stratosphere and held the 20-year world record for the highest altitude: 72,395 feet.

1937
Current ownership takes control of Warwick.

1940 top
First to develop and produce parachute fabric for U.S. Military during WWII.

Weaves material for blimps that patrolled the Pacific for Japanese submarines during World War II.

1950s top
Warwick weaves breakthrough “Fiber X” (Nylon) for Dupont.

1960s top
Warwick develops substrate material used in the inflatable flotation collars for the Apollo 17 missions.

1970s top
Expand research and development with Vectran and high-performance textile substrates.

1981 top
After the assassination attempt on President Reagan, concealable body armor for presidential use incorporates a specialized weave developed by Warwick.

1985 top
Warwick creates a polyester material to reinforce diaphragms for Xerox machines.

Warwick develops substrate material to improve durability of wet/dry sandpaper.

1990s top
Warwick incorporates full-production engineering services combined with existing textile manufacturing capabilities.

1991 top
Charles Howland joins as President of Warwick. Focus shifts from textile production of roll goods to also providing high-performance flexible composites for a wider breadth of industries: military, industrial, aerospace, marine.

1992 top
Warwick weaves sailcloth used on the HMS Rose, a 1776 ship replica.

1995 (through 2002) top
Patents awarded for six weave and lamination processes.

1996 top
Produce Nomex diaphragm material for the turbo-chargers in Ford’s F-Series trucks and pollution controllers in GM vehicles.

TurtleSkin protective material used in footwear to improve puncture and cut protection.

1997 top
Warwick works with JPL and ILC to develop a multilayer materials approach for the impact airbags used on the NASA Pathfinder mission to Mars. The material produced was ultra durable, lightweight, and stood up to the challenging Mars environment.

The refurbished USS Constitution sails under its own power for the first time in 116 years, with sailcloth woven by Warwick.

Warwick develops glove material that protects users from cut, puncture, and needles.

Warwick develops lightweight protective chaps for chainsaw operators and logging operations.

1998 top
Patent awarded for the tightest weave design ever achieved in high-strength fibers.

2001 top
The space shuttle Endeavour lands successfully using a parachute made of high-strength fabric created by Warwick.

2003 top
Warwick announces release of TurtleSkin Storm Glove, which provides the highest level of puncture, cut, and needlestick protection available in Warwick’s line of TurtleSkin Safety Gloves.

Warwick wins New York State Department of Corrections bid for 40,000 pairs of TurtleSkin gloves.

2004 top
Warwick fabric used for the impact airbags of Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity . The material stood up to the harsh environment on Mars’ surface and weighed less than the fabric used in men’s dress shirts.

Weaves sailcloth for Mirabella V, the largest single-masted ship in the world (twice the height of the Statue of Liberty).

Warwick creates the lightest, flame-retardant fabric used in military flight suits.

Warwick uses puncture technology to create the lightest, thinnest material used to prevent flat tires in bicycles: product is named SpinSkins.

Warwick creates the lightest, softest fabric to stop all North American snakebites: product is named SnakeArmor.

2005 top
Supplies more than 15,000 US Marines in Iraq with soft leather gloves that also protect against both cut and puncture in the palm.

Launch of TurtleSkin website store for purchase of Turtleskin products: SnakeArmor, WaterArmor, Police Gloves, Safety Gloves, and SpinSkins.

Warwick designs new TurtleSkin Special Ops Glove to protect officers from high-temperature “flash” fires.

Develops lighter material that protects fire fighters in urban search and rescue missions (USAR): PBI TurtleSkin.

2006 top
Warwick develops new ultralight, flexible technology for hull and ballonet for surveillance blimps designed to replace missile defense satellites.

Warwick begins shipment of TurtleSkin MFA (Metal-Flex Acessory) body armor. Upwards of 40,000 Dutch National Police officers use TurtleSkin MFA to protect from needles and edged weapons (knife, stab).

Warwick’s WaterArmor protects UHP operators from potentially fatal water blasting injuries at pressures as high as 40,000 psi.

TurtleSkin Chem-Bio gloves combine a cut resistant outer shell with a chemical-resistant inner liner.

2007 top
Laminate development and fabrication of protective shelters designed for chem-bio protection.

Warwick develops high-density, flexible material that offers lightweight puncture protection for select Schwalbe high-performance bicycle tires.

Under the direction of NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) and Airborne Systems (formerly Irvin Aerospace), Warwick supplied the material used in the airbags that are a candidate landing technology for NASA's Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle.

2008 top
TurtleSkin SoftPlate Body Armor receives Level IIIA certification from NIJ (National Institute of Justice). TurtleSkin's concealable ballistic vests offer high safety margins for ballistic and blunt trauma protection from handgun threats.

Development of inflatable flexible composites for torpedo recovery.

Full production of chem-bio laminates for protective shelters.