Mayflower has just announced that they are adding A-TACS AU to their lineup of color choices.
Archive for the ‘Industry’ Category
BE Meyers & Company Inc Names Dr Gregory Quarles New Chief Executive Officer
Wednesday, February 1st, 2012B.E. Meyers & Company, Inc. has announced the appointment of Dr Gregory Quarles, currently President and Chief Operating Officer, as its new Chief Executive Officer effective immediately. Current CEO and founder Brad Meyers remains active in the company and will assume the new role of CEO Emeritus and will focus on technology adoption and new product development.
“During his 18 months as President and COO, Greg has shown great insight into the industry and demonstrated the unique capacity prepare B.E. Meyers for its next step forward. His successes to date, including the award of the U.S. Army Green Laser Interdiction System (GLIS), and deep experience in the electro-optics market make him highly suited to take over as CEO,” stated Brad Meyers.
Dr Quarles joined B.E. Meyers in May of 2010 after 18 years with II-VI Incorporated. He is a graduate of Oklahoma State University and holds dual BS in Math and Physics, and a Master’s of Science and Doctorate in Physics.
“It is both an honor and a challenge to have this opportunity to lead this great company,†said Dr Quarles. “B.E. Meyers is a company with tremendously skilled and committed employees, with a unique culture and with many strong and exciting products in its portfolio and I am truly looking forward to the task.â€
BE Meyers should be familiar to SSD readers. Not only did they develop the Green Laser Interdiction System for US Army but also Flash Hiders. Additionally, if you’re in the JTAC business, you’ll be more than handy with the IZLID family of laser pointers, also provided by BE Meyers.
Galls and Quartermaster Merge
Wednesday, February 1st, 2012So yesterday a gun company buys another, it’s not nearly as big news as this. Galls, LLC, a veritable powerhouse in the public safety, first responder and private security sector, has merged with Cerritos, California-based Quartermaster, Inc. While this alone is significant, add in this tidbit. Galls was acquired by New York-based private equity firm CI Capital Partners in September of 2011. Now, you begin to see some consolidation by outside investors.
Bob San Julian, Chief Executive Officer of Galls said, “We are very excited to announce the merger of these two industry leaders. Quartermaster’s large customer base will benefit from Galls’ broad product offering, high level of customer service, and East Coast distribution capabilities. In turn, Quartermaster’s highly recognizable private label brand, long-standing relationships with key suppliers, and established West Coast distribution presence will be instrumental as we compete for customers in the public safety products sector.”
Jim Duncan, current Chief Executive Officer of Quartermaster, will become President of the combined company. Mr. Duncan commented, “Quartermaster has achieved tremendous success on its own since 1974. As we look toward our future growth, we realize that joining forces with Galls and forming a national distribution platform is the best means of serving our customers. Galls and Quartermaster share a commitment to the highest standards of quality and customer service, making Galls an ideal partner for us going forward.”
“When we closed the acquisition of Galls last fall, it was our goal to build and position this business for long-term growth and profitability, both organically and through strategic acquisitions,” said Thomas Ritchie, Managing Director at CI Capital Partners. “Quartermaster’s strong brand recognition, marketing capabilities, and experienced sales organization make it an exceptional combination with the Galls platform.”
PNC Business Credit, AEA Mezzanine and PennantPark Investment Corporation provided financing for the transaction.
As the DoD budget shrinks, the LE and first responder markets begin to look even more lucrative. However, it’s not easy money by any means. The market is extremely segmented and it takes a great deal of leg work to reach the multitude of customers. You have agencies and organizations spanning from local to state to federal, all with differing requirements, funding and procurement systems.
TLS Isn’t Going Anywhere
Tuesday, January 31st, 2012Despite criticism of the program (mainly from those who don’t have a piece of the pie) Defense Logistics Agency’s Tailored Logistics Support (TLS) program isn’t going away. In fact, it’s flourishing. All four incumbents have been issued a one year extension.
Originally envisioned as the Prime Vendor for Special Operations Equipment program over 10 years ago, the concept began as a means to provide better support to the diving community. DLA found itself stocking dive gear for a small community. The idea was formed to outsource the stocking of this gear to commercial dive supply houses who specialized in the gear and could actually support a wider variety of items. This saved DoD money by not having to stockpile equipment and provided the diving community with more options. Since many of the divers hail from SOF units, it was only a matter of time before the contract was leveraged to provide other specialized, low density gear.
Since that time, the program has morphed into TLS to more accurately reflect the other prime vendor programs which include food and medical commodities. This change has also introduced increased competition amongst the participants and improved administration and oversight of the program. Over the past 10 years I have observed ups and downs with this program and, while I don’t think it’s right for every purchase, it has certainly served DoD well.
From yesterday’s DoD Contract Announcements…
Tactical & Survival Specialties, Inc.*, Harrisonburg, Va., was issued a modification exercising the second option year on contract SPM8EJ-09-D-0001/P00016. The award is a firm-fixed-price contract with a maximum $5,680,898,304 for delivery of items supported by the Special Operational equipment, tailored Logistics Support Program. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. There were 14 responses to the Web solicitation. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2011 Defense Working Capital Funds. The date of performance completion is March 9, 2013. The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity.
W.S. Darley & Co.*, Itasca, Ill., was issued a modification exercising the second option year on contract SPM8EJ-09-D-0002/P00015. The award is a firm-fixed-price contract with a maximum $5,622,398,304 for delivery of items supported by the Special Operational equipment, tailored Logistics Support Program. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. There were 14 responses to the Web solicitation. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2011 Defense Working Capital Funds. The date of performance completion is March 9, 2013. The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity.
Source One Distributors, Inc.*, Wellington, Fla., was issued a modification exercising the second option year on contract SPM8EJ-09-D-0004/P00017. The award is a firm-fixed-price contract with a maximum $5,470,398,304 for delivery of items supported by the Special Operational equipment, tailored Logistics Support Program. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. There were 14 responses to the Web solicitation. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2011 Defense Working Capital Funds. The date of performance completion is March 9, 2013. The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity.
Atlantic Diving Supply*, Virginia Beach, Va., was issued a modification exercising the second option year on contract SPM8EJ-09-D-0003/P00017. The award is a firm-fixed-price contract with a maximum $4,316,398,304 for delivery of items supported by the Special Operational equipment, tailored Logistics Support Program. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. There were 14 responses to the Web solicitation. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2011 Defense Working Capital Funds. The date of performance completion is March 9, 2013. The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity.
FGI Purchases Para USA
Tuesday, January 31st, 2012“We welcome Para into the Freedom Group Family of Companies,†stated. E. Scott Blackwell, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer of Freedom Group Inc.
“Para USA is a leader in handgun technology and their fine products exemplify quality, innovation and performance. Para is a perfect complement to our industry-leading family of brands, and our success in 2011 with the Remington R1 – 1911. We look forward to deploying both human and financial resources to continue to develop and supply current and future handguns for consumers and our channel partners. We also wish to thank all its employees for their continued dedication that has made Para a success.”
That’s how Scott Blackwell characterized Freedom Group’s purchase of Para USA in an official statement. For many years FGI has wanted to add a pistol manufacturer to their portfolio, even going so far as to internally launch the Remington R1, a 1911 clone that has received tepid response from the market.
Rumors swirled around the sale at SHOT Show after Gear Scout spilled the beans about the pending deal but FGI marches to their own tempo so it’s no surprise they took a few extra weeks to announce the deal. Generally, a very secretive conglomerate, FGI only recently removed any mention of the long defunct EOTAC clothing business from their website with never even an acknowledgement that it had closed its doors.
The best part of the FGI press release was this little gem, “Para will continue day-to-day operations at their Pineville, NC based facility.” We’d like to add a “for now…” to the end of that one.
ADS Reveals Camo Expertise
Tuesday, January 31st, 2012
ADS Inc never stops surprising us. Over time, we’ve come to know about their Ghostex program and their work with HyperStealth Biotechnology Corp on specialized camouflage patterns for Afghanistan. Most recently, they’ve teamed with Guy Cramer to win as spot as finalists in the US Army’s most ambitious camouflage improvement effort to date.
Now, they’ve launched a new section of their website dedicated to all of their camouflage programs. Not only will you see some better images of their US4CES-Delta patterns that we revealed here on SSD during SHOT Show, but they also reveal additional information on their Army-finalist Alpha family of patterns as well as some a few of the variants from the Ghostex Advanced Camouflage System.
Last, but certainly not least, ADS has been a prime supplier of critical clothing and equipment in the US Army’s Operation Enduring Freedom Camouflage Pattern (OCP), commercially known as MultiCam. Both FREE and ECWCS Gen III are provided by ADS Inc and they have adopted both environmental clothing systems for issue in OCP.
ADS has informed me that they plan on adding to the camo section of the website as new information becomes available. In particular, we are looking forward to seeing additional Ghostex patterns as well as a glimpse of what their Army candidate patterns will look like on ACUs and OCIE. It is definitely worth taking a look at what they have going on.
www.adsinc.com/solutions/clothing-programs/camouflage-solutions
Tags: ADS Inc, GHOSTEX, Guy Cramer, Hyperstealth Biotechnology Corp, Multicam
Posted in ADS, Camo, Industry, Multicam | Comments Off on ADS Reveals Camo Expertise
Take a Tour of the US Patriot Warehouse
Tuesday, January 31st, 2012Amber Alert – Crye Compact Assault Ghillie
Sunday, January 29th, 2012
Crye Precision debuted a great product at SHOT Show; the Compact Assault Ghillie. The thought process is simple, snipers aren’t the only guys who need ghillie style camouflage. Crye came up with their solution which is super lightweight, super compact and super cool. In fact, it is so cool that someone walked off with their sample, right out of the booth. I guess we’ll know who it was when it shows up on eBay, shows up on an attention whore website, or shows up as a “new” product from some chop shop. No matter who it was, do the right thing and send it back. I’m sure it misses home.
