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Davis Journal

Kihomac leader in manufacturing industry opens its doors to the public

Nov 14, 2022 11:44AM ● By Becky Ginos

LAYTON—A company that started out small and now has a 135,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility near Hill Air Force Base, Kihomac continues to expand its manufacturing of military equipment and is known for its composite work. The company has now branched out into medical equipment and light rail parts. The secure facility opened its doors for public tours last week.

“Ki Ho Kang founded the company in 2003,” said Matt Majewski, Kihomac Vice President Strategic Markets. “They were doing work on the A-10 aircraft for the Air Force. It went from a small team of engineers and tech support for the Air Force and has grown to sites in Utah, Georgia and Oklahoma City that are all located by an Air Force base. In Texas we do software. There are offices spread out across the U.S.”

Over the years, Kihomac has done more and more work on aging aircraft, he said. “The parts are just wearing out.” 

Kihomac also has a new contract with the Navy for a helicopter gunner seat, said Majewski. “The seat is one of the largest Navy contracts,” he said. “It prevents injury or a broken neck of airmen in the MH60 Blackhawk. It has a shock absorption system that allows the force to be taken by the seat on impact rather than a soldier's back.”

The contract is to build 450 seats, said Majewski. “The Navy owns the design and we make it manufacturable.”

Kihomac has also designed body armor, he said. “We started creating body armor several years ago from an employee’s suggestion. We looked at the market and we had the capability to do it so we did the research and it developed into that. We made several different armor plates for the Army and the Navy facility wanted to buy the body armor so we have a contract with the Navy.”

The armor is light weight so that it can be ditched at sea, Majewski said. “We’ve also developed a female specific body armor plate that is more comfortable but still has the same capabilities.”

BYU patented an idea for origami folding armor shields so Kihomac is also manufacturing that, he said. “We sent 128 shields to Cache County to be used for protection of teachers, administrators and students. It’s part of the school safety initiative for a grant to improve safety at school. We helped them win the grant.”

In addition, Kihomac developed software under the Dir-S name that connects all administrators, teachers and organizations to use in real time, said Majewski. “It provides situational awareness through an app to identify where they can be safe or not. Such as in a fire they can see an area that is unsafe or safe.”

Kihomac also manufactures a structure that holds the rest of the X-ray equipment in a medical setting and parts for light rail trains in California, he said. “We continue to grow and expand into new markets, not just defense. We have more and more to offer, especially in composites we’ve broken into that market.”

Majewski said Kihomac is veteran owned. “We have 35 percent of our employees who are vets.” λ