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Crosman keeps its eye on target: competition
Air gun maker rolls out new products, runs lean
Amy H. Wu
Staff writer
(October 20, 2005) — Josh Coon, Crosman Corp.'s Internet guru, clicked onto the company Web site and began to build a customized air gun.
Barrel? Steel. Handle color? Silver. Coon did a test run of the soon-to-launch online "custom shop" where customers can create and buy guns.
"That is really cool, really cool," said Jock Elliott, a seasoned gun writer who was among a group of journalists seeing the demonstration.
The feature is an example of the technology and creative marketing that Crosman is trying to use to gain a competitive edge.
Tucked away in a rural area of East Bloomfield, Ontario County, Crosman's 250 workers design, produce and assemble what have been the bread and butter of its business since 1923: air guns and air gun ammunition. The company produces more than 1 million guns a year; 30,000 pounds of BBs and more than 3 million pellets are made per day.
The company's revenue has grown 50 percent in the four years since Crosman Chief Executive Ken D'Arcy came out of retirement to take the reins.
While the private company would not disclose sales numbers, officials said annual revenue ranges from $70 million to $100 million. For the first quarter of this year, sales grew 30 percent more than expected.
In addition to its full-time staff, Crosman has 200 seasonal workers and has seven open positions in production. Besides East Bloomfield, the company has a small plant in Stover, Mo., and a warehouse in Victor, Ontario County; it will add more warehouse space in Canandaigua.
One of the company's keys to success is introducing products — something it has emphasized since D'Arcy came on board.
"If you don't bring new products to market, you will quickly die," D'Arcy said.
When D'Arcy started, it had been eight years since a new air gun was launched. Now, Crosman introduces an average of two to three new air guns a year. In 2005, at least five new air guns are being launched, not counting the soft air and paintball lines Crosman carries.
Walking through Crosman's 217,000-square-foot plant on Routes 5 and 20, Dan Schultz, vice president of manufacturing, said that new technology has boosted productivity.
"We broke the operations up and introduced a revolver," Shultz said, pointing to the revolving assembly cell on the "Pumpster 760" line. Before the restructuring, there was one worker building an air gun; now there are four workers who rotate every two hours.
With the bottom line in mind, D'Arcy introduced a competitive bidding system — open to factories internationally and domestically — for new products. And China doesn't always win.
"In one case, we found out our factory was 30 percent lower in price than China and Taiwan," D'Arcy said. "We'll do absolutely anything that makes good financial sense. They (Crosman's workers) have to do it better, faster and cheaper than the guys in China."
While globalization is a reality, 90 percent of Crosman's sales still come from the United States. The company has stayed lean by outsourcing some of its service to other companies, sharpening its packaging, especially for big-box retailers such as Wal-Mart, and keeping all advertising and marketing in-house.
"We thought that cutting $3 million was huge four years ago, but that was just the beginning," D'Arcy said.
Then there is the company culture that tries to give its employees a vested interest in their products, in part by encouraging them to pull the trigger.
Crosman opens its indoor shooting ranges and an outdoor paintball field to its workers, and the company boasts an active shooting league.
"They are encouraged to shoot," D'Arcy smiled, clicking a trigger on an air gun.
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051020/BUSINESS/510200346/1001
Air gun maker rolls out new products, runs lean
Amy H. Wu
Staff writer
(October 20, 2005) — Josh Coon, Crosman Corp.'s Internet guru, clicked onto the company Web site and began to build a customized air gun.
Barrel? Steel. Handle color? Silver. Coon did a test run of the soon-to-launch online "custom shop" where customers can create and buy guns.
"That is really cool, really cool," said Jock Elliott, a seasoned gun writer who was among a group of journalists seeing the demonstration.
The feature is an example of the technology and creative marketing that Crosman is trying to use to gain a competitive edge.
Tucked away in a rural area of East Bloomfield, Ontario County, Crosman's 250 workers design, produce and assemble what have been the bread and butter of its business since 1923: air guns and air gun ammunition. The company produces more than 1 million guns a year; 30,000 pounds of BBs and more than 3 million pellets are made per day.
The company's revenue has grown 50 percent in the four years since Crosman Chief Executive Ken D'Arcy came out of retirement to take the reins.
While the private company would not disclose sales numbers, officials said annual revenue ranges from $70 million to $100 million. For the first quarter of this year, sales grew 30 percent more than expected.
In addition to its full-time staff, Crosman has 200 seasonal workers and has seven open positions in production. Besides East Bloomfield, the company has a small plant in Stover, Mo., and a warehouse in Victor, Ontario County; it will add more warehouse space in Canandaigua.
One of the company's keys to success is introducing products — something it has emphasized since D'Arcy came on board.
"If you don't bring new products to market, you will quickly die," D'Arcy said.
When D'Arcy started, it had been eight years since a new air gun was launched. Now, Crosman introduces an average of two to three new air guns a year. In 2005, at least five new air guns are being launched, not counting the soft air and paintball lines Crosman carries.
Walking through Crosman's 217,000-square-foot plant on Routes 5 and 20, Dan Schultz, vice president of manufacturing, said that new technology has boosted productivity.
"We broke the operations up and introduced a revolver," Shultz said, pointing to the revolving assembly cell on the "Pumpster 760" line. Before the restructuring, there was one worker building an air gun; now there are four workers who rotate every two hours.
With the bottom line in mind, D'Arcy introduced a competitive bidding system — open to factories internationally and domestically — for new products. And China doesn't always win.
"In one case, we found out our factory was 30 percent lower in price than China and Taiwan," D'Arcy said. "We'll do absolutely anything that makes good financial sense. They (Crosman's workers) have to do it better, faster and cheaper than the guys in China."
While globalization is a reality, 90 percent of Crosman's sales still come from the United States. The company has stayed lean by outsourcing some of its service to other companies, sharpening its packaging, especially for big-box retailers such as Wal-Mart, and keeping all advertising and marketing in-house.
"We thought that cutting $3 million was huge four years ago, but that was just the beginning," D'Arcy said.
Then there is the company culture that tries to give its employees a vested interest in their products, in part by encouraging them to pull the trigger.
Crosman opens its indoor shooting ranges and an outdoor paintball field to its workers, and the company boasts an active shooting league.
"They are encouraged to shoot," D'Arcy smiled, clicking a trigger on an air gun.
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051020/BUSINESS/510200346/1001
