Company name: Marrero Armor
Headquarters: Scottsdale, Ariz.
Signature Product: Multi-hit, NIJ-qualified and compliant hard armor ballistic protection
Website: https://marreroarmor.com/
1. Where did your company name originate from? The name comes from Hans Marrero, our co-founder and co-owner. Hans has been training law enforcement and special forces for over 20 years and has strong name recognition in the industry. When we launched the company, we leveraged his reputation to help us establish a foothold in the market.
2. What was the inspiration behind starting your company?
We were co-founders of a previous armor company, ATS Armor, which was sold in 2019. Even after the sale, former customers kept reaching out, asking for additional armor. By late 2019, we decided to re-enter the market, leading to the founding of Marrero Armor on February 12, 2020.
3. What is your signature product and how does it work? We specialize in multi-hit, NIJ-qualified and compliant hard armor ballistic protection, including shields and body armor. Additionally, we offer soft armor, vests, carriers and a variety of accessories.
4. Why do you believe your products are essential to the police community? We’ve already had three documented “saves,” meaning our armor protected officers in life-threatening situations. Our mission is to provide the best protection possible while keeping our products affordable. Many competitors have high overhead costs that force them to charge premium prices — we don’t and we pass those savings on to our customers.
5. What has been the biggest challenge your company has faced? Brand awareness. From the onset, we wanted to build products that stood on their own merit. We have not, and will not, accept outside financing to artificially accelerate the growth of our company. We have stood fast on this principle: we will grow at a rate commensurate with the success of our products. We knew that if we built great armor, offered it at a reasonable price, and backed it with best-in-class customer support, we would eventually gain market share. Roughly 85% of our sales today come through referrals from satisfied customers. Recently, we have modestly marketed our company and products, and we also attend high visibility trade shows to increase our brand recognition. As our awareness grows, so will our ability to advance our branding.
6. What makes your company unique? Our daily mission is to support the law enforcement and military warriors in every way we can with protective products. They are always our focus. A family culture exists at Marrero Armor and all our business partners and employees are considered a part of our family. We have designed every detail of our products: our viewports, viewport frames, handles, straps and, most importantly, our world class armor that is truly the lightest in the industry. Also, we filed a co-owned patent with AXON Enterprises, essentially integrating non-lethal technologies on a ballistic shield (ours). We learned many lessons from our first armor company and have the experience and wisdom to apply these lessons for the good of Marrero Armor and the customers we support. One day, we envision Marrero Armor being run by our families.
7. What do your customers like best about you and your products? We are trustworthy, loyal and ethically honest. We have found these qualities are not practiced by all, and our customers appreciate what we do and how we do it. What customers like best about our products is referred to internally as the “trifecta.” The three elements of the trifecta are price, performance and weight. We lead the market in all three.
8. What is the most rewarding part of serving the first responder community? Saves. To date we have had three. This means that three officers were able to return home from shift and have dinner with their families. Not only is this the most rewarding element of our efforts, but also the proudest.
9. Is there any fun fact or trivia that you’d like to share with our users about you or your company? Every order goes out with a Marrero Armor prayer card. Our prayer cards have a short message to the customer and contains either the prayer of St. Michael, the patron Saint of law enforcement, or Psalm 144: 1-2.
10. What’s next for your company? Any upcoming new projects or initiatives? We are always looking to evolve and progress. There are a few exciting initiatives underway; however, you’ll have to stick around to hear about them.