EBSCO Industries, Inc. :: News :: Back in the Game, PRADCO Outdoor Brands Has Sites Set on No. 1


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Back in the Game
PRADCO Outdoor Brands Has Sites Set on No. 1

PRADCO Outdoor Brands opened the doors of its new Research and Development facility mid-December 2006, bringing an additional 12,000 square feet of office space and 36,000 square feet of manufacturing space to POB.

Within the warehouse is additional storage for Summit All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) products, a television studio for Commonwealth Productions, production space for Knight Rifles and space for researching new products and production techniques. The new office space is bright and spacious and facilitates open-door communication.

John Woller, Jr., PRADCO Outdoor Brands general manager, explained that the Research and Development facility was constructed to bring more aspects of production in house. For example, in the past Knight Rifles has outsourced much of its labor. . Now the new facility provides space for additional equipment that will eliminate the need to contract out some labor, thus saving the company money and further improving quality. The addition of a television studio for Commonwealth Productions will allow studio time to be handled in house for additional cost savings.

The expansion also allows POB to take on a staff of engineers, all charged with developing new products. Currently, the POB engineering team is working on two new Knight Rifles, a new bow site, an electric game-calling device and new fishing lures, to name a few. The new products are cutting edge compared to past POB products and those that competitors are introducing this year.

For example, the new bow site introduced by Summit Treestands at this year’s SHOT Show uses both manual and LED technology to create an amazingly accurate and easy-to-use site that is prefect for treestand hunting.

While developing new products, the engineering team is also working with the production staff to streamline production techniques to improve efficiency and quality.
“Bottom line is that we are seeing new products and developing a quality thought process,” Woller said. “This is huge.”

The new facility is already near capacity. Woller foresees construction on additional buildings in the very near future as the new products take hold and POB begins to grow at a more rapid rate.

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