Armor All.

• Author: Case, Kristen Gould
• Position: Brief Article

Mark Burton

CEO, INTERNATIONAL ARMORING CORPORATION

Superman would love Mark Burton. His International Armoring Corporation creates vehicles that are faster than a speeding bullet and stronger than a locomotive. Like the exo-skeleton suit that helps Superman function in hazardous situations, Burton's armored vehicles enable dignitaries, business executives and families worldwide to protect themselves from kidnapping, robbery and assassination attempts.

Ogden-based IAC retrofits cars with devices that provide protection while maintaining the original vehicle appearance. Run-flat tires, bulletproof panels, fire walls, pepper spray systems, reinforced ram bumpers and more, allow a vehicle under siege to escape as quickly and safely as possible. Some of IAC's success is due to Burton's revolutionary Armormax[R] material, a fiber combination that provides ballistic protection 40 percent lighter than steel.

With a background in big-8 accounting, Burton founded IAG in 1993. His company employs 300 people worldwide, boasts 25 distribution centers around the globe, $10 million in annual sales and is one of the nation's top three armoring companies. System wide, IAC will armor 400 vehicles this year at prices ranging from $32,500 to $375,000 ($65,000 is the average).

When locals first learned that Burton created bulletproof cars, many said, "We didn't know the problem was so bad in Utah!" It's not. Ninety-nine percent of Burton's clients reside outside the United States, with Mexico and Brazil currently comprising IAG's largest client base.

How does this family man, with five children aged 4 to 16, feel about making his living off one of the world's seediest components: terrorism? "I just have to humanize it all," he says. "IAC serves a need; it fills a unique niche. We're helping to save lives. Sometimes in the United States we have a different perspective on what the world...