U.S. Small Business Administrator Linda McMahon (right) and Atlas Devices President Bryan Schmid

Linda McMahon, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration, visited Atlas Devices in Charlestown yesterday as part of her nationwide SBA Ignite Tour.

The initiative is focused on listening to business owners, educating people about the SBA’s services for access to capital, mentoring and federal contracting, advocating for entrepreneurs and driving economic growth with small businesses.

Atlas Devices is a global provider of innovative solutions for security, defense, and rescue applications. MIT researchers founded the company in 2005 to help customers accomplish difficult tasks in all environments: maritime, urban, airborne and beyond.

One of the company’s flagship products, the Atlas Powered Rope Ascender, allows military personnel and firefighters to scale a building or the side of a ship up a rappelling line at up to 10 feet per second.

The company doubled the size of its office in 2014 with the help of an SBA program. Robert H. Nelson, district director of the SBA’s Massachusetts office, was also in attendance.