A couple months ago, our colleague Ruth Simon took a trip to Asheville, North Carolina,

to tour a factory there.

I've got a five-minute tour and a five-hour tour and everything in between.

Okay, I'll take the in between.

Ruth is being led around the factory by John Oswald, CEO of Mills Manufacturing.

Mills isn't just any factory.

They make crucial equipment for the U.S. military, specifically parachutes.

When a soldier jumps out of a plane, whether

on a training mission or in combat, there's a good chance they're trusting a Mills parachute

to carry them safely to the ground.

And if you have any questions or you're curious about anything, don't hesitate to stop

and ask me.

I'm fascinated. I'm just trying to take it all in.

Overhead, fluorescent lights illuminate rows of workstations, covered with fabrics,

straps, and thread.

There are hundreds of sewing machines in the mills factory, operated by employees

who painstakingly cut and stitch each piece of each parachute.

So how many steps to make a parachute?

Oh.

So from this particular one, there's 27 steps.

A single skipped stitch among thousands is considered a major defect.

Throughout the factory, signs spell out the company's mission, to bring troops safely to the ground 100% of the time.

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