GUN TRADE ASSOCIATION


Claire West’s Air Arms story


The Gun Trade Association’s Lin Oxley speaks to different players in the gun trade. This month she has been meeting with Claire West, boss of the legendary Air Arms...


T


his month I had the pleasure of catching up with Claire West, owner and managing director at Air Arms (NSP Group Ltd) in Hailsham, a lady passionate about the sport and the community that the trade serves. “Tell me a little about the history of


GTA deputy director, Lin Oxley


68 | Tackle & Guns | April 2022


Air Arms Claire, and how you got from tea gal to proprietor?” Claire West: NSP Development & Manufacturing Engineers Ltd (originally Organ Engineering) was founded by my father Bob Nicholls and two partners back in the late 1960s. After various partners over the coming years and a name change, my father


became the sole owner of NSP in the early 80s. Our history and portfolio of precision engineering covered many different genres including hospital and dentistry equipment, the retail, motor and agricultural industries, MOD, and many more sub-contract- based business. However, with the continuing rise in demand for air rifles, by the turn of the millennium we had dedicated and focused 70% of our energies to solely producing air guns, rising to 100% by 2010.


The brand Air Arms was established in 1983 and began life following our first trading name, Centrepoint.


www.tandgmagazine.com


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