Turning Point

When a Navy pilot roars from a combat ship off the coast of Afghanistan, bound for a strafing run on an enemy firing at U.S. forces, there is a good chance that tucked away in the pilot's equipment are essential parts from Tampa Bay that could save his life.

Those parts are built into his parachute — sturdy metal housings and mechanical components. If the pilot is forced to bail out over the ocean and lands, unconscious, in the water, a sensor detects the fluid and blows his parachute away so it doesn't drag him under. In rapid sequence, his head is lifted from the water and his life jacket inflates, while a second sensor triggers a flare so rescuers can find the pilot.

The metal parts that house the sensors are manufactured at a little-known Tampa company that occupies a 20,000-square-foot building where the lights burn 24/7. At Southern Manufacturing Technologies (SMT), a private company celebrating its 30th year in business, workers churn out 20,000 highly precise components per month, for the aircraft, aerospace, and defense industries.