Her husband, who had joined Wrap Technologies just one day earlier, suggested she’d be a perfect fit. He wasn’t wrong. 

“I knew right away that this is a product I can stand behind,” Bonnie Pena said. “We traveled daily to the Lake Forest, California, facility, where the BolaWrap 100 cassettes were being manufactured, and made countless trips to Las Vegas to build the devices. From the beginning, I was determined to learn every step of the process.” 

That determination carried Pena through a pivotal moment in the company’s growth. In 2019, Wrap needed to bring manufacturing under one roof, and she was asked to relocate to Tempe, Arizona, to help make it happen. As operations supervisor, she hired, trained, and mentored a team that would help launch the next generation of Wrap’s flagship product: the BolaWrap® 150. 

The BolaWrap® 150 has since become one of the most recognized and successful pre-escalation tools in law enforcement worldwide. Unlike pain-based compliance tools, it doesn’t shoot, strike, or shock. Instead, it deploys a Kevlar tether that safely restrains individuals, buying officers valuable time to control situations without injury. Deployed to more than 1,000 agencies across the U.S. and in 60 countries, it has become a trusted resource for officers seeking a safer choice in the field. 

Pena takes pride in being part of that journey.  

“What a great time in the history of the company, to watch it change and grow,” she said. “The most rewarding part of my job is to see my team succeed.” 

Her belief in teamwork runs deep. Before joining Wrap, Pena owned a contract manufacturing company in Colorado for 20 years, where she honed her philosophy of teaching and cross-training. At Wrap, she’s applied that approach to every stage of manufacturing, shipping, receiving, and inventory control. 

Now, with Wrap’s manufacturing world headquarters relocated to Norton, Virginia, Pena has made a significant move once again, this time not just for the company, but also for the community. 

“For me, to accept the offer to relocate to Virginia with Wrap was an opportunity I couldn’t refuse,” she said. “I was told that the economy of Southwest Virginia was suffering due to the downturn in the coal and tobacco industries. Many people are out of work and barely making ends meet. To have the ability to help a community prosper and grow is right where I need to be.” 

The Norton facility is more than a workplace; it’s a cornerstone of Wrap’s future. Built to produce up to 23,000 BolaWrap devices and over 150,000 cassettes per month, the site also houses research and development, training, and demonstration centers. The facility is positioned to assemble Wrap’s 1KC kinetic anti-drone cassette, a patent-pending technology designed to extend the BolaWrap® platform into the counter-unmanned aerial systems (CUAS) market. The move to Norton is expected to create more than 120 new jobs across manufacturing, engineering, logistics, and training. 

“With our terrific team of leaders, this is an excellent opportunity to create not just jobs, but a lifetime of careers,” Pena said.  

For Wrap, it’s a story about scaling innovation and building for the future. For Pena, it’s something more personal: a chance to see people thrive, just as she has.