Made in Indiana: Penshot personal safety device by Pavashot Inc.

History: Pavashot President Curtis Graber, Vice President Jon Willson and Design & Development Director Joel Fritz founded Pavashot in 2019. Graber is an inventor whose creations have been used by the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force. Willson and Fritz previously worked together at Lake Forest, Illinois-based PepperBall, a company that produces and sells non-lethal weapons to police departments and other law enforcement agencies.

Product details: One of Pavashot’s first products, the Penshot, looks like a pen and works like a pen, but it also serves as a long-range pepper-powder launcher and an alternative to pepper spray. “The pen will reach out 30 feet with a 3-foot plume. It’s a plume, not a projectile,” Fritz said. “You don’t have to hit the individual. You just have to get it towards them, and you’re building a wall between you and them.”

How to purchase: The Penshot is available online for $149 through Pavashot’s website and on Amazon.

Employee count: Pavashot remains a small company with eight employees but is looking to add up to eight more by this summer.

Other products: Pavashot makes the Stickshot, which produces a larger plume than the Penshot, with a reach of up to 70 feet. The company also produces non-pyrotechnic diversionary devices, which are similar to flash-bangs, and nonlethal projectiles that the company sells to law enforcement agencies around the country.

Fun fact: Company leaders recently attended the Mock Prison Riot at the decommissioned West Virginia Penitentiary, where their products were put to use in training exercises and demonstrations.

Headquarters and production: Pavashot’s products are designed and assembled at its headquarters in Woodburn—one of the smallest cities in Indiana, with just over 1,500 people.

Website: pavashotinc.com