For those of you unfamiliar with the name, Kevin Brittingham created Advanced Armament Corporation, near his home in Georgia. After growing it into an innovative suppressor brand, he sold it to Remington. Eventually, there was friction at Remington. Brittingham was just not used to their corporate culture. Remington eventually fired Brittingham, but after a lengthy court battle, he cleared his name in civil court, and was awarded a hefty settlement. After cooling his heels for awhile, he popped back up at SIG. There, he worked to develop newer suppressor designs and improve small arms performance.
When I heard last Friday that Kevin Brittingham was moving on from SIG SAUER, I contacted him and we spent some time on the phone discussing what had happened and where he was headed. Lately, Brittingham has been concentrating on some personal issues and it seems he had some time on his hands at SIG. Frustration was likely mutual.
As I understand it, Brittingham had agreed to spend part of his time in Georgia with his children and part at SIG’s Headquarters in New Hampshire where he did what he specializes in, assembling a team to develop innovative suppressor and specialized firearms solutions. Unfortunately, it seems that there was more development than production. Out of 12 suppressors developed by the team, only three have made it to production. There are similar stories regarding firearms as well. I get the impression that Brittingham felt he was spinning his wheels. Eventually, there was tension over his absences and a perception that SIG wasn’t putting enough emphasis on his projects. The result is that Kevin Brittingham is no longer at SIG, but he plans to continue to do what he loves, building firearms.
I’m sure everyone wants to know all of the details on why Kevin Brittingham left Remington and SIG, but I want to concentrate on the future. What’s done is done. Instead, I want to know about what this means for the firearms industry and what opportunities this move offers the consumer.
You talk to Kevin Brittingham and you realize he is the kind of guy that needs to run his own business. He’s been successful and knows what works, outside of corporate culture. He becomes frustrated with beauracracy.
Right off the bat, before anything else, Brittingham talked about people. He knows that success is dependent upon assembling the right team. His vision for his new company is to bring together the best people and then to identify and service segments of the firearms market not properly supported.
I asked him when we should expect to see this new company and Brittingham answered, “Next week.” That floored me. Apparently, he’s realized he needs to work for himself as well. He also mentioned picking up where he left off after his time with AAC. It’s not that his stint at SIG amounts for nothing, it’s just that he prefers the vector he was on with AAC.
He won’t be at SHOT Show but rather working to form a new brand that he expects to be shipping guns by end of year. But, finding the right people is paramount. While the list of prospective projects he mentioned to me is impressive, Brittingham said he won’t start something until the right people for for a particular design are in place. If that means waiting a year, he’ll do it. It also means he won’t try to be everything at once. He expects to recruit the right employees by offering quality of life. He explicitly mentioned recreating the culture from AAC as a means to that end.
His motto is simple, “be a little better today.” While his long-term goal is to be the best, he knows you get there incrementally. He wants to identify things that are good and improve. And more than anything, Brittingham wants to function without corporate restraint.
His vision for a company is to do what many won’t. Rather than asking, “What’s best for the company,” Brittingham wants to know, “What serves customer best, and what serves employee best?” He sees that answering those two questions will get you where you want to be as a company.
This isn’t a plan to build a company and sell it off when it’s worth a few Million Dollars. He made a bundle in the AAC deal and now it’s about putting it to work for long-term success. Brittingham spoke about quality of life for his employees but I think he’s seeking that for himself as well.
Kevin Brittingham is a rebel in an industry that is increasingly corporate in nature. Successful companies are purchased by larger ones. His goals this time aren’t acquisition as the measure of success. Instead, it’s long-term commitment. He envisions a company with 50 people run with real leadership. That’s not a concept we see enough in today’s corporate management culture. I wish him success.
Those interested in becoming a part of Kevin abrittingham’s new team should send a resume to kevinbrittingham@me.com.
