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Team Wendy v. FMA – Court Rules In Team Wendy’s Favor

Thursday, August 28th, 2014

Very exciting news! Team Wendy has recently won a court battle against Hong Kong-based FMA in regards to the their counterfeiting of Team Wendy’s intellectual property. The final judgement and permanent injunction can be read below:

Click to view .pdf

Additionally, Team Wendy has released a brief statement regarding the matter:

Team Wendy decided to go after a Chinese/Hong Kong company (FMA) that has been knocking off our intellectual property. After we educated the court about the potential confusion and safety issues inherent in FMA’s knock-offs, the court entered the attached judgment in our favor. A nice victory/statement against those stealing American intellectual property.

Congratulations to Team Wendy for the court victory, and hopefully this ruling will serve as a precedent for ceasing any future instances of copyright infringement of gear by foreign companies.

www.teamwendy.com

Tags: Team Wendy
Posted in Helmets, Industry, International | 39 Comments »

Don Medine Leaves Safariland Group

Monday, August 25th, 2014

The Safariland Group issued this statement regarding TCI founder Don Medine:

Dear Valued Customer,

After 18 years of engineering and producing high quality communications headsets, founder of Tactical Command Industries, Don Medine has decided to pursue other interests and will be departing from The Safariland Group.
Don and his wife Patty built TCI from the ground up alongside a group of law enforcement professionals. Under Don’s leadership, TCI became a company adept at both small custom integration projects as well as large defense procurement opportunities. With a continued passion for TCI, Don decided to sell his company to The Safariland Group in October of 2013 and align TCI’s communications systems with our well-positioned tactical offerings. Since then, Don has been instrumental in integrating TCI’s business into our Communications Category.

With the foundation that Don and Patty have built for TCI we are confident in a successful future for our line of communication products.
We thank Don for his contributions to the industry and wish him well in his future endeavors.

Sincerely,

Scott O’Brien

I’ve known Don a long time and wish him well in his next adventure.

Tags: Don Medine, Safariland Group, Tactical Command Industries
Posted in Industry | 6 Comments »

John Barklow, SOCOM Survival Expert Joins Beyond Clothing

Friday, August 22nd, 2014

Former SOCOM Survival Equipment Analyst, Master Mountaineer, and Senior Survival Instructor John Barklow will help lead Beyond’s efforts to develop survival technology and techniques.

Seattle, WA, August 23, 2014 – Beyond Clothing, a technical clothing designer and manufacturer for the outdoor industry and professional user community, has brought on Master Level Special Operations Community mountaineer John Barklow to serve as the company’s Survival Master Trainer. In this capacity, Retired Naval Chief Barklow will help lead Beyond’s efforts to continue developing state of the art outdoor and military clothing technologies that enable professional users and consumers to operate and survive in the harshest of conditions.

A 20-year Chief Navy Diver, Barklow brings with him decades of experience developing essential military and commercial technical outdoor gear, and has served as an instructor and leader for SOCOM in the art of survival. He retired from military service in September of 2008 and made the move from Kodiak, Alaska to Salt Lake City, UT in August. Barklow’s first book, ” Dress to Kill” about how to live and survive in the wilderness, is set for release next spring.

“I am excited to join the Beyond Team to continue our mutual work of developing and advancing vital clothing technologies, and educating users on the art of survival,” said the master training specialist. “Beyond’s focus and commitment to the end user and their ability to execute their missions safely, irrespective of environmental factors, made our pairing a good fit. Survival isn’t just about securing top notch clothing, it’s also about educating the user on how to use said clothing to ensure their safety.”

As part of his new role as Beyond Clothing’s Survival Master Trainer, Barklow will be leading a series of videos for the company, detailing training and survival techniques that he has mastered in his military and civilian capacities. The videos will debut this fall and are expected to assist both mission and commercial customers with utilizing Beyond’s uniquely advanced clothing systems.

“John is an American hero and well known and respected in the Special Operations Community. Having his superior product development and instructional expertise behind Beyond Clothing greatly enhances our ability to ensure that every end user of our product is utilizing their gear to its potential,” said Beyond Clothing President Richard Elder. “It’s going to save lives. We are honored beyond measure to have him as a part of the Beyond team.”

Congrats to John and the Beyond Team! We can’t wait to see what comes next.

www.beyondclothing.com

Tags: Beyond Clothing, John Barklow
Posted in Industry | 2 Comments »

Original Footwear Purchases Wellco and Altama

Thursday, August 21st, 2014

This letter went out last night from Kevin Cole President of Original Footwear (aka Original SWAT) regarding their purchase of Wellco and Altama brands out of Ch 11 Bankruptcy. This is great news as they salvage these brands and institute US production for Original SWAT.

Dear valued customers,

We are pleased to announce that our company, Original Footwear, has purchased the majority of the assets of Tactical Holdings and Operations Inc. as of August 15th, 2014. Most notably we welcome the Wellco and Altama companies—brands with a wealth of history, research, and footwear technology.

These premier footwear brands have served military personnel for generations and will live on next to our already successful and rapidly growing Original S.W.A.T. brand of performance tactical boots. With our fifteen-year record of constantly improving footwear manufacturing techniques and quality assurance, this acquisition is a perfect fit for all involved.

There are many important steps to take, and our journey has just begun. We will face all obstacles head on. As a first priority, we are consolidating manufacturing at our state-of-the-art facility in Morristown, Tennessee, and ramping up USA production.

Our unwavering mission is to create the most reliable military and law enforcement boots on the market, and ensure our availability standards are met. Combining Original S.W.A.T’s consistent quality and value with Wellco and Altama’s unique understanding of military needs, we are confident that the end results will far exceed our customers’ expectations.

Thank you for your time and understanding. Please make note of our new Customer Service information below and feel free to contact us at any time.

Best regards,

Kevin Cole
Owner
Original Footwear

Tags: Altama, Original Footwear, Original SWAT, Wellco
Posted in Boots, Industry | 12 Comments »

Samtech to Purchase Massif Out Of Bankruptcy

Thursday, August 21st, 2014

Received some great news today that Massif will be purchased by Samtech LLC. Massif has long been at the forefront of providing FR clothing systems to the US military.

Massif Mountain Gear Company L.L.C., the flame resistant clothing company, announced yesterday that Samtech, LLC was the successful bidder at a Section 363 sale auction to acquire substantially all of Massif’s operating assets. Samtech, LLC is affiliated with Antex Knitting Mills/MatchMaster Dyeing & Finishing, Inc. based in Los Angeles, California. The acquisition enhances Massif’s supply chain through vertical integration, product innovation and rapid prototyping capabilities, while providing Antex/MatchMaster with an expanded infrastructure to meet the global needs of the civilian & military flame resistant clothing industry. The Massif brand will be maintained.

“The Massif team is thrilled to solidify our long standing relationship with our most important supplier. This acquisition will be seamless to our customers” said Noelle Christensen, VP/GM Massif. “The Antex team has been a huge part of our business since its start so we’re looking forward to growing the business together.”

“The Antex/MatchMaster team has worked closely with Massif for many years on development and production of flame resistant fabrics and garments. We are very excited about this acquisition.. It is a natural outgrowth of our long-standing partnership and we look forward to our next phase as one team.” Bill Tenenblatt, Vice President Samtech.

The sale to Antex is subject to the approval of the Bankruptcy Court at a hearing on August 22, 2014 and is expected to be finalized within the next two weeks.

Tags: Antex Knitting Mills/MatchMaster Dyeing & Finishing Inc, Massif, Samtech LLC
Posted in Industry | 12 Comments »

Brand & Oppenheimer Names Lizz Gillcrist As Business Development And Marketing Manager

Tuesday, August 19th, 2014

RED BANK, N.J. – August 19, 2014 – Brand & Oppenheimer Co., Inc. (“B&O”), a leading textile converter, announced today the appointment of Lizz Gillcrist as Business Development and Marketing Manager for Protective Fabrics.

Gillcrist comes to B&O with more than seven years of marketing and product management experience. Most recently, she served as Product Specialist in the Advanced Concepts Group for Polartec, LLC in Lawrence, MA. Prior to that, Gillcrist worked for the Stride Rite Corporation.

“We are confident that Lizz’s brand management experience, enthusiasm and working knowledge of fabrics and garments will enable us to better serve our customers,” said Dan Pezold, President and CEO of B&O.

As the Business Development and Marketing Manager, Lizz will be responsible for creating new protective fabric segments, developing a plan to expand protective fabrics globally, as well as educating customers, distributors and end-users on Glen Guard® FR Hi Vis. products.

David Mackney, VP of Protective Fabrics, stated, “I am excited to add a talent like Lizz to the Protective Fabrics team. The energy and passion Lizz brings to the Company will be a key component of our future growth strategy.”

“We’re very pleased to have Lizz join B&O as Business Development and Marketing Manager,” stated Jon Mansfield, Partner of Praesidian Capital. “We appreciate her expertise and focus and know that both will be useful to help spearhead growth for B&O.”

www.brandandoppenheimer.com

Tags: Brand & Oppenheimer
Posted in Industry | Comments Off on Brand & Oppenheimer Names Lizz Gillcrist As Business Development And Marketing Manager

The Safariland Group Names Scott F. Harris Chief Financial Officer

Monday, August 18th, 2014

Harris to oversee global finance and accounting operations

JACKSONVILLE, Florida – The Safariland Group (The “Company”), a leading global provider of a diverse range of safety and survivability products designed for the public safety, military, professional and outdoor markets, announced today the appointment of Scott F. Harris as Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”). As CFO, Harris will be a member of the Company’s executive leadership team and will oversee the global finance and accounting operations of the Company. Harris will report to Scott O’Brien, President.

“We are thrilled to add Scott to our executive team. His financial acumen and expertise, strategic thinking and leadership will be an exceptional advantage for the Company as we continue to grow globally,” said O’Brien. “Scott’s experience in international finance, including two expatriate assignments in Luxembourg and France, and mergers and acquisitions will be critical in supporting our key growth initiatives through the international market and strategic acquisitions.”

Harris joins the Company after spending the past 14 years at Delphi Automotive PLC, a leading global vehicle components manufacturer. Most recently, Harris was Vice President, Finance and CFO for Delphi Thermal Systems, an operating segment of that company based in Troy, Michigan. Before assuming the CFO position in 2007, he was the Finance Director of the Delphi Diesel business based in Paris, France and a Director of the Corporate Controller’s Staff in Troy, Michigan. Prior to joining Delphi, Harris held several financial leadership positions with Honeywell including assignments in Morristown, New Jersey; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Luxembourg. Harris received his A.B. in Economics from Brown University and his MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.

“I’m very excited about leading the global financial and accounting operations for The Safariland Group,” said Harris. “With 50 years of experience in developing quality, technologically advanced safety and survivability products, the Company is the clear industry leader and I look forward to working with the team to drive profitable growth in our markets.”

www.safariland.com

Tags: Safariland
Posted in Industry | Comments Off on The Safariland Group Names Scott F. Harris Chief Financial Officer

BLACKHAWK! Retakes Control Of Facebook Page

Monday, August 18th, 2014

Although the URL remains httpswww.facebook.com/girlswithguns18, late last night BLACKHAWK! Worked with FaceBook to regain control of their Facebook page. It was hacked yesterday and spammed thoroughly with NSFW images of women with guns. We are still insure who accomplished the hack but a similar act was recently committed against sister brand Bushnell. In recognition of the situation, BLACKHAWK! made this simple post.

Unfortunately, this hacking event cost BLACKHAWK! followers on Facebook which is now a rather expensive issue considering the spate of service changes at Facebook that have severely throttled the reach of business pages to their followers.

Tags: Blackhawk, Facebook
Posted in Industry | 6 Comments »