During a recent conversation with Surplus Today, SwissLink’s Miles Huffman shared the company’s remarkable story of rebuilding after disaster, the evolution of the surplus industry, and why he believes there has never been a better time for new dealers to enter the business.

A Family Business Built on Surplus

“SwissLink was started in the early ‘90s by my father, Maurice Huffman,” Miles explained. “He originally had a connection in Switzerland, which is where the name SwissLink came from.”

As Switzerland downsized portions of its military following the Cold War, large quantities of surplus became available. Mo Huffman recognized the opportunity early, importing everything from the now-iconic Swiss salt-and-pepper backpacks to wool blankets and field gear.

“He really started by bringing that stuff over and selling it to sporting goods companies,” Miles said. “SwissLink.com is actually one of the oldest running e-commerce websites out there. We’ve had that domain since the ‘90s.”

Today, SwissLink operates as both a wholesale distributor and online retailer, offering military surplus alongside reproduction gear and outdoor products. The company’s premium wool blankets have become especially well known throughout the industry. “Our classic wool blankets are still one of our flagship products,” Miles said. “They’re 80% wool with recycled blended fibers, so they keep all the benefits of wool while still being soft and comfortable.”
Disaster Strikes Paradise

In 2018, the Camp Fire tore through Paradise, California, destroying nearly the entire town — including SwissLink’s warehouse and inventory.“It was devastating,” Miles recalled. “My house burned down, my dad’s house burned down, and the warehouse was gone too.” For many businesses, such a loss would have meant the end. Years of accumulated surplus inventory — much of it rare and impossible to replace — disappeared overnight.

“My dad really didn’t know if he wanted to start over again,” Miles said. “When you lose everything, that’s a hard thing to come back from.” But rather than walk away, the Huffman family regrouped.“We ended up all living together in a hotel for a while — me, my wife, my parents, the animals — everybody,” he laughed. “My dad had employees who depended on the business, and he didn’t want to just shut the doors and walk away.”Mo forwarded the company phone line to his cell phone, purchased a laptop, gathered the team together, and slowly began rebuilding SwissLink from scratch.

“That’s really when I joined the company full-time,” Miles explained. “Before that, I was doing graphic design and freelance work. But after the fire, it felt like a reset for life.”

Rebuilding the Warehouse

The company’s first temporary location after the fire was far from ideal.“We ended up renting part of a walnut processing facility,” Miles said. “It wasn’t glamorous, but it had loading docks and enough space to keep operating.”

In 2020, SwissLink relocated to its current warehouse in Chico, California, about 20 minutes from Paradise.
“We got lucky finding this building,” Miles explained. “Warehouse space was extremely hard to find at the time, but this place had loading docks and just enough room to make it work.”

Today, the warehouse is packed floor-to-ceiling with European military surplus, fuel cans, camouflage nets, wool blankets, and outdoor gear. SwissLink also manufactures its well-known “Storm Bags” on-site. “We’re honestly out of space already,” Miles admitted. “We keep running liquidation sales just trying to make room for more inventory.”

The Evolution of Surplus

Like many in the industry, Miles believes the military surplus market continues to evolve rather than decline.“People always ask if the industry is slowing down,” he said. “The reality is it’s changing and growing.”According to Miles, new selling platforms and online communities are creating opportunities for a new generation of dealers.

“There are so many different ways to get involved now,” he explained. “Some people are opening small stores, others are selling online, and live-selling platforms have opened things up even more.”

He believes surplus remains one of the few retail categories where independent sellers can still carve out a profitable niche. “With surplus, you’re selling unique items with real history behind them,” Miles said. “It’s not like selling bottled water or paper towels where everybody has the exact same product.

A Community-Driven Industry

One of the themes that repeatedly surfaced during the conversation was the strong sense of community within the Army-Navy and surplus industry. “That’s one of the best parts of this business,” Miles said. “Everybody has different products and different specialties, so companies end up supporting each other instead of competing over the exact same thing.”
Industry events like the A&M/EM trade show continue to play a major role in strengthening those relationships between dealers, wholesalers, and retailers.

“You see everybody doing business together at those shows,” Miles explained. “It really is a community.”
For Miles and the Huffman family, that support network helped SwissLink survive one of the most difficult chapters in the company’s history.

Now, nearly eight years removed from the Paradise fire, SwissLink continues to expand while staying true to the family-business values it was founded on. And despite already running out of warehouse space once again, Miles says they are not slowing down anytime soon. “We’ve got a little room left,” he laughed. “We’ll use every inch of this building before we start talking about expanding again.”