World-renowned local scuba outfitter Halcyon now has room to grow
On the way to becoming a record scuba diver, Jarrod Jablonski had to modify his breathing equipment to safely handle the longer and longer distances he and his friends were traversing into Florida’s underwater caves.
As word of their exploits grew among divers on the Internet in the early 1990s, he found a demand to teach his diving techniques and provide equipment to serious divers and underwater explorers.
He co-founded Halcyon Manufacturing in High Springs in 1996 with fellow diver and tinkerer Robert Carmichael to provide the equipment. They started with two rebreathers, devices that scrub exhaled carbon dioxide and add fresh oxygen to re-circulate breath for longer dive times.
Today, Halcyon offers a full range of diving hardware, including breathing regulators, buoyancy tanks, lighting, guideline reels and spools, and handheld dive vehicles, among other products. It has grown to 30 employees and has products in more than 500 dive shops around the world.
Last month, the company moved from a 12,000-square-foot leased space into a 26,000-square-foot warehouse it had built in the High Springs Industrial Park.
Jablonski said the new facility gives Halcyon the space it needs for a growing line of dry suits, plus room to grow for the next decade.
Growing up in West Palm Beach, Jablonski was a competitive swimmer who fell in love with scuba diving in the ocean early in high school. He discovered spring and cave diving after moving to Gainesville to attend the University of Florida in 1988, and started teaching diving at UF as a way to pay for college. After he graduated in 1994, he ran the dive training program at Ginnie Springs in High Springs.
During that time, he started establishing and re-establishing long-distance cave-diving records, culminating in a 7-mile entrance-to-entrance dive from Wakulla Springs to Turner Sink near Tallahassee and a 47,620 round-trip dive in Wakulla Springs, both in 2007.
While trying to decide what to pursue after college, he realized he had a niche opportunity to provide training and equipment to elite divers. The company started manufacturing in High Springs and near Carmichael’s home of Fort Lauderdale before consolidating operations in High Springs in 2001.
Jablonski traveled around the world to build a base of distributors, and today about 75 percent of Halcyon’s sales are international.
Around the same time Halcyon started operations, Jablonski opened the Extreme Exposure dive shop in High Springs, carrying Halcyon and other brands.
In 1999, he founded Global Underwater Explorers, a nonprofit dedicated to scuba education and underwater conservation.
After initially catering to highly technical divers, Halcyon expanded into more recreational lines to offer a premium product to the everyday diver.
Products are tested at nearby Ginnie Springs during development.
Jablonski said Halcyon’s expansion was far from certain during the first half of its existence.
“The first 10 years were incredibly scary,” he said. “I started it with credit cards and high-interest loans, and a wing and a prayer. I did everything wrong in terms of how you should start a business — with money in the bank.”
Looking back, he said he is mostly grateful at the support from the diving community.
“Thousands of people around the world are using our equipment in a wide range of environments. I feel really fortunate and proud of what everyone’s helped us accomplish.”
Age: 46 Occupation: CEO, Halcyon Manufacturing Personal: Married, no kids Pets: Two dogs, a German shepherd and a Jack Russell terrier Dream partners for lunch: Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Warren Buffett Favorite book: “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” by James Joyce Favorite TV show: “Not much time for TV.” Playing in his car: “Usually quiet time for reflection or catching up on global news. While exercising, I like an eclectic blend of music.” Hobbies: “All forms of exercise and fun. Pursuing scuba diving, cave diving, snowboarding.” Education: B.S. in geology, B.A. in English, University of Florida