Last month, we officially opened our new OPSWAT warehouse and manufacturing center in Ybor City Tampa. For many of us, it was more than the launch of a new facility—it marked a turning point. A clear statement about who we are, what we stand for, and how we intend to build the next era of OPSWAT.
I want to share why we made this decision. Not because anyone demanded an explanation, but because a move of this magnitude deserves transparency. Everyone should understand the convictions behind this choice—because it reflects our mission, our culture, and our future.
Direct Control of Our Supply Chain
Global supply chains remain unstable. Component shortages, port delays, geopolitical tensions, and vendor bottlenecks have become the norm—not the exception. For companies like ours, serving critical infrastructure operators, uncertainty is not an acceptable variable.
Onshoring eliminates exposure to:
- Unknown third-party component substitutions
- Unmonitored firmware handling
- Foreign manufacturing environments operating outside U.S. critical-infrastructure standards
For the organizations we protect, these risks are unacceptable. For us, they are avoidable.
By centralizing manufacturing in Tampa, we now control parts, schedules, continuity, and quality at the source. No intermediaries. No guessing games. Just operational clarity and true ownership.
Better Quality and Deeper Accountability
When engineering, quality assurance, and manufacturing sit together, excellence becomes a shared responsibility rather than a distant expectation.
Our hardware protects industrial plants, utilities, energy operators, critical infrastructure, and the systems people trust every day. Quality cannot be outsourced. Onshore production gives us:
- Full transparency
- Faster issue resolution
- A tighter alignment between design intent and manufactured output
No lag. No translation gaps. Just accountability and precision where it matters most.
Innovation Acceleration
I firmly believe that innovation thrives when the distance between ideas and iteration is small, and when threats evolve daily, our ability to innovate cannot be slowed by geography.
With our teams in Tampa able to test, refine, and validate hardware concepts on the same day they surface, we unlock faster development cycles for MetaDefender Kiosks, NetWall, Drive, Industrial Firewall, and our growing portfolio of hardware solutions.
Decisions Critical for Compliance
As OPSWAT continues to grow, so does the scrutiny and rigor required of our processes. Our customers—especially those in defense, government, energy, and other critical sectors—expect us to meet the highest global standards. Onshoring has become essential for achieving and sustaining compliance across the expanding set of mandates we are aligning to:
- ISO 9001 – Quality Management
- ISO 27001 – Information Security
- ISO 22301 – Business Continuity
- ISO 31000 – Risk Management
- ISO 45001 – Occupational Health & Safety
- CTPAT – Supply Chain Security & Anti-Tampering
- CMMC (Level 2 and beyond) – U.S. DoD Cybersecurity Requirements
...and more certifications are underway.
Because achieving compliance is only half the challenge—maintaining it consistently is the real test. Onshoring gives us:
- Full visibility into component sourcing
- Documented chain of custody for every device
- Controlled access to sensitive manufacturing processes
- Predictable audit readiness without international dependencies
- A hardened environment aligned to U.S. critical infrastructure expectations
Simply put, you can't meet the future of cybersecurity compliance with an offshore model built for the past. Bringing manufacturing home ensures OPSWAT stays ahead of evolving regulatory demands—not scrambling to catch up to them.
Tariff Stability
Tariffs, geopolitical policy, and international manufacturing regulations shift frequently. These swings introduce unpredictable costs and operational constraints that can ultimately impact customers.
Onshore manufacturing reduces these variables and gives us the financial and operational consistency needed for long-term planning.
Scaling with Control and Expanding Margins
Operational efficiency is not just about speed; it’s about cohesion. Controlling warehousing, assembly, component flow, and logistics in a single location has already improved:
- Component yield
- Packaging accuracy
- Inventory visibility
- Rework reduction
These improvements translate into stronger margins—not through cost-cutting, but through smarter, more controlled operations.
What This Means for Our Customers
Customers choose us because the systems they operate cannot fail. With this move, we can deliver:
- Faster delivery times
- Higher quality hardware
- Stronger component security and supply-chain integrity
- Faster innovation cycles
- Stable pricing
- A more resilient operational foundation
This is what ownership looks like.
A Long-Term Commitment to Security, Reliability, and Resilience
Bringing manufacturing home is more than a milestone. It reflects who we are:
- We take ownership.
- We invest in reliability.
- We build for resilience.
- We protect critical infrastructure.
- We commit to doing things the right way—not the easy way.
This warehouse is not just a facility. It is a foundation for the next era of OPSWAT.
And this decision—hard, deliberate, and forward-looking—will shape our company for many years to come.
