Amherst-based manufacturer Foundation Armor formed as a solution to a longstanding problem in the concrete industry: homeowners and contractors having recurring issues with water moisture in basements.
President Tanya Schifone, with her husband and fourth-generation concrete laborer Eric, developed a “concentrated sodium silicate densifier” to help seal building foundations. After it proved practical, the couple began pitching its value to national retailers, like Home Depot, Lowes and Amazon. Their efforts paid off, and now, Foundation Armor products are sold through those retailers as well as Walmart and Northern Tool + Equipment. The company also ships to Canada and Mexico.
“Every year, we work on new products, and we test them for a long time before we bring them to market,” Tanya says. “But it’s really just constantly creating and finding out where needs are in the marketplace.”
Foundation makes nearly 80 concrete sealing products in the “hundreds of thousands of gallons a year,” she says. The company has sold to big-name clients like TD Bank and the U.S. Air Force, and for projects like NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum in Los Angeles.
After steadily building the business for eight years, Foundation Armor weathered the pandemic relatively well. Competitors, however, shuttered as industry chemicals like silane and siloxane dried up. Tanya credits Foundation’s survival to producing its formulations in-house and domestically, and being proactive rather than reactive in adequately stocking those chemicals due to the volumes of sealant products the company sells.
The Schifones employ 16 part- and full-time workers at a 25,000-square-foot headquarters on Howe Drive that they built last year, accommodating larger sales, shipping orders the same day they’re placed and pre-packaging more products.
Breaking into the construction sector amid deep-rooted brands trusted by contractors is a proud achievement for the Schifones, Tanya says. But she’s most grateful for her employees who’ve kept the business running in demanding times. “I can’t say enough positive things about our staff, and the amount of things they’re able to do with limited space and limited time,” Tanya says. “They’ve overcome every and any obstacle you could possibly dream up.”
