ICYMI: Industry News From
March 20–24, 2023

Streamlight Celebrates 50 Years

Streamlight Inc. announced it is marking 50 years of manufacturing high-quality flashlight products. Since its founding in 1973, Streamlight has grown from a small company with a single product to a global manufacturer of a broad range of high-performance lights for law enforcement, military, firefighting, industrial, automotive, outdoor and DIY users.

A pioneer in the development of rechargeable flashlights, lanterns and LED lighting, the company is known for its expert engineering approach to creating lighting products that feature extraordinary brightness while also offering high value and durability.

“At Streamlight, we have always taken pride in designing and manufacturing lighting products that make our customers’ jobs easier, improve their productivity and keep them safe in trying conditions,” said Streamlight President and CEO Ray Sharrah. “As we celebrate 50 years of operation, we pledge to continue to leverage the latest advances in LED and battery technologies to produce ever brighter, more useful lighting tools, while still maintaining our same high-quality standards.”

Today, Streamlight designs, manufactures and markets a full line of flashlights, headlamps, weapons lighting, lanterns and accessories that are sought after by military and first responders, automotive and industrial professionals, outdoor enthusiasts and other users in the U.S., and more than 90 countries worldwide.

What began as a small operation with several employees has grown into a 240,000-sq. ft. manufacturing and office space in Eagleville, Pa., with more than 350 employees. The company now holds over 525 U.S. and foreign patents, and over 135 U.S. and foreign trademarks.

For more info: streamlight.com.

Henry Donates $25,000 To Pheasants Forever And Quail Forever

Henry USA announced a donation of $25,000 to Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever. This donation is part of Henry’s $1 million silver anniversary pledge and the company’s commitment to safeguarding America’s outdoors and hunting traditions.

“Our longstanding partnership with Henry Repeating Arms has fundraised countless dollars for local volunteers to improve habitat and access in their communities,” said Marilyn Vetter, president and CEO of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever. “This incredible donation will ensure that wildlife habitat will continue to thrive for generations to come. Thank you to Henry Repeating Arms for its steadfast commitment to upland landscapes throughout the pheasant and quail range.”

Driven primarily through donations and grassroots chapter efforts, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever share a common mission of conserving upland bird populations and other wildlife through habitat improvements, educational outreach, public access and conservation advocacy at the federal level.

Since 1982, the organizations have improved over 24 million acres and, together with local, state and federal agencies, have acquired over 225,000 acres that will forever be protected for use by the public.

“Perhaps more than any other pursuit, bird hunting is what gets me excited, and it is important to me personally that we continue to see the success of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever,” said Andy Wickstrom, president of Henry Repeating Arms. “Especially here in the Midwest, we see wildlife habitat constantly under threat of industry and expansion, so I applaud the more than 400,000 members, partners and donors of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever for their unwavering conservation efforts.”

For more info: henryusa.com, pheasantsforever.org, quailforever.org.

The IHEA-World Welcomes NAFWS As Partners In Hunter Education

The Native American Fish & Wildlife Society (NAFWS) is now partnered with the International Hunter Education Association (IHEA) allowing Native American tribes to become certified to teach Hunter Education. This new partnership opens up Hunter Education to the over 4.5 million Native Americans, allowing them reciprocity to hunt worldwide.

With 227 tribes in seven regions, NAFWS supports these tribes in their right to manage over 56 million acres of tribal lands for fishing and hunting. Delivering messages of safe hunting practices through state wildlife agency programs has been extremely difficult, if not impossible, in many of these territories. This partnership allows NAFWS- associated tribes to teach Hunter Education and issue valuable official Hunter Education cards certifying new hunters to buy licenses anywhere in the U.S., Mexico, Canada, Australia, South Africa and other IHEA-WORLD partner countries.

“Kwak kway [Thank you] to the IHEA-World and the NAFWS for collaborating together to accomplish the Hunt Safe Program under the NAFWS,” stated Darren Talayumptewa, NAFWS board member. “This program will allow tribes to use their sovereignty to implement the same Hunter Education curriculum taught within each state game and fish agency, however, it will also allow tribes to incorporate their own respective traditional and cultural hunting ethics and practices for our people and the general public. It is our hope tribes and state agencies will honor the certification and continue with our collaborative efforts to teach Hunter Education values and ethics for all.”

Continuing education training for Hunter Educators in the tribes is already available through the IHEA-USA’s Learnhunting.org portal, and Hunter Education classes are expected to launch in tribal territories in the summer of 2023.

For more info: ihea-usa.org, nafws.org.

Blackhawk Recognizes Sales/Trade Partners

Blackhawk has recognized four industry partners for their outstanding sales performance and partnership efforts during the recent 2023 IWA OutdoorClassics Show, which took place in Nuremberg, Germany.

German distributor Helmut Hofmann was awarded a 2022 Top Four International Distributor Award from Blackhawk. Helmut Hofmann distributes Blackhawk holster systems and other products to the German army, German Customs Police and numerous other military units and police agencies. Recently, Helmut Hofmann helped equip the Niedersachsen State Police with 8,000 of the new Blackhawk T-Series L3D holster system.

Swiss distributor B&T AG was likewise awarded a 2022 Top Four International Distributor Award. B&T AG supplies Blackhawk holster systems to the Swiss army and numerous law enforcement agencies throughout Switzerland. The company has enjoyed great success with Blackhawk’s T-Series duty-rated and concealment holsters.

Another Top Four International Distributor winner was Blackhawk’s French distributor WELKIT. They specialize in supplying the French military and law enforcement agencies with a wide variety of equipment. WELKIT provides Blackhawk holsters and tactical gear to the French National Police, French Special Forces and various other military and police units.

Blackhawk also awarded GLOCK with the 2022 Tender King Award for the company’s partnership winning the large French army pistol contract, which included the Blackhawk T-Series L3D holster with multiple platforms and the Quick Disconnect System.

“Blackhawk is extremely proud to work with these outstanding companies who supply the men and women of their armed forces and law enforcement agencies with the gear that they need to serve the citizens of their counties every day,” said Chuck Buis, Blackhawk director of international sales.

For more info: blackhawk.com.