Specialty Fabrics Review October 2022 - 26

[ PERSPECTIVE ]
Mission Critical
C
Nichole Holroyd
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
AND CO-OWNER
Spiritus Systems
Aberdeen, N.C.
spiritussystems.com
ATA member since 2019
Most valued benefit
" The networking
opportunities and
friendships you form
through ATA are invaluable. "
Written by
Darcy Maulsby
Photography by
Tim Sayer
Nichole Holroyd takes a team approach at Spiritus Systems.
all it a business founded on frustration and driven by inspiration. Spiritus
Systems, which supplies nylon tactical gear for law enforcement, military
personnel and other customers, started as an idea that took root on the side
of a mountain in the Hindu Kush range in Afghanistan, where reliable gear is
essential to survival.
" My husband, Adam, and his friend Zane Vogel served in the U.S. Army, and
both experienced equipment failure during their military service, " says Nichole
Holroyd, chief operating officer and co-owner of North Carolina-based Spiritus
Systems. " They saw an opportunity to make higher-quality gear. "
The young men discovered that their gear (including chest rigs and duffle
bags) wasn't always up to the rigorous standards their dangerous jobs demanded.
The lifelong friends, who had met in grade school when they were growing up in
South Dakota, knew they could-and would-do better.
" You can't afford to have catastrophic equipment failure when you're in a tough
environment, " Holroyd says.
After the men were deployed in Afghanistan in 2014, they brainstormed the
concept for Spiritus Systems when they returned to their " B Huts " (Barracks huts
commonly seen on U.S. military installations in Afghanistan) after missions.
They also scribbled ideas into notebooks illuminated by their headlamps during
multiple combat deployments.
Once the men left active duty in 2016, Adam Holroyd bought a sewing machine
off Craig's List, taught himself to sew and tried making some of the budding
entrepreneurs' ideas a reality. The best friends also began looking for a place to
start their new company. While they contemplated going back to South Dakota,
they also evaluated a number of other states. They chose Aberdeen, N.C., due to
its proximity to Fort Bragg and the state's thriving textile industry.
Neither the Holroyds nor Vogel had any experience in the textile world.
Holroyd, who grew up in Rapid City, S.D., earned her master's degree in
public health and worked in a virology lab. She was willing to combine
her organizational/managerial skills and desire to help people with Vogel's
background in fabrication and her husband's military experience. All this
gave the team the skills to produce plate carriers (fabric vests) to pouches
for medical supplies and more. " We build gear to carry things, " she says.
Since this gear grew out of the company founders' military experience, it made
sense for the business name to reflect this, she adds.
" Spiritus is Latin for 'ghost,' and Adam was a sniper in the Army with the Ghost
3 team. Spiritus Systems' design philosophy draws on Adam's and Zane's military
service, as well as feedback from our customers. We're proud to use advanced
manufacturing techniques here in America to supply high-quality gear. "
26 SPECIALTY FABRICS REVIEW / October 2022
http://www.spiritussystems.com
Specialty Fabrics Review October 2022

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