GUN TRADE ASSOCIATION
Spring/Recoil rifles were the name of the game back then with our first ever production rifles being the Jackal, Hi-Power and Firepower. Most of our sales were through the catalogue giant, Empire Stores, and by the mid 80s we had completely re-designed and re-developed the range to include the Mistral, Camargue and Khamsin to name but a few.
From the late 1980s the company embarked on its journey to invest heavily in to state of the art CNC equipment. Our very first PCP was the Shamal and whilst it still needed further development, it was undoubtedly ahead of its time and was quickly followed by our 100 series. We soon learned that with more investment and more development, Air Arms would lead the way in mass produced sporting PCPs with our S300. Air Arms were at the forefront of this evolution and led the way for innovative, consistent, and reliable PCP airguns for all.
I joined the company in 1984 at the age of 16 and it became evident very quickly that the world of Air Rifles was soon to become my love and my life. I am truly thankful and consider myself extremely privileged and fortunate to have worked closely with my father for over 27 years before his untimely passing in 2011.
Following my father’s passing,
and having a strong foot hold in the business, NSP was gifted to myself and my three sisters equally. Ten years on, my sisters wanted to sell their shares and so in November 2020, I purchased the company in its entirety and became the sole owner under the name of NSP Group Ltd.
I continue to run the business with the core values and principles that were instilled in me from an early age. I am extremely passionate and committed. I lead with honesty and integrity, and I will continue to invest and evolve Air Arms and Airguns. For almost 40 years Air Arms has built and continues to build a global network of distributors and importers and while the UK is still by far our biggest single market, we now regularly export to over 45 countries worldwide.
They no doubt include EU countries. How has Brexit red tape impacted Air Arms? Claire West: There is no question, Brexit has created a whole new set of challenges for us. The rules and restrictions now surrounding exporting and importing from and to the Europe are a daily headache. Rising transport and insurance costs, assuming you can get insurance cover at all, are also a daily grind but what is most difficult to process is not only the lack of
couriers willing to move our products but the worldwide interpretation/ understanding of the commodity codes. All too often airguns are identified as firearms thus on occasion, causing us an even bigger headache. However, moving forward, I remain hopeful and optimistic that the GTA will be working with the Government and legislators to ease these newfound burdens that so many of us are now experiencing.
The GTA are indeed working on it – politically and with the couriers. Of course, that other thorn in our side, the Covid virus, can’t go unmentioned. How have you navigated the past couple of years? Have sales risen or declined? Claire West: Like many other businesses, back in March 2020, we found ourselves sitting under a very black cloud, not knowing nor having any control on what was about to happen. With Europe and the rest of the world locking down ahead of the UK, we saw orders that we had built for delivery postponed until further notice and no new orders to process. The enormity of what was happening around the world was without doubt extremely scary. The feeling of having no control over what was happening, feeling totally exposed and financially vulnerable is a feeling I never wish to experience ever again.
www.tandgmagazine.com
April 2022 | Tackle & Guns | 69
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