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2003 Fantastic 50
Manufacturing: Parker Compound Bows

by Robert Burke
Virginia Business
May 2003

Bob Errett has shown he can spot an opening in the market. He launched his own business seven years ago on the hunch that bow hunters would pay for premium gear that they weren’t getting from existing bowmakers, and he was right. Today Errett’s Parker Compound Bows, based in Mint Spring, is one of the fastest-growing businesses in the state in revenues and the top manufacturing firm in the Fantastic 50 contest for the second year in a row.

Instead of resting on that success, though, Errett is eyeing another prey: the crossbow market. Over the past 18 months, Errett says, the company has designed two crossbow models and prepared its manufacturing lines to produce 5,000 or more units this year. The crossbows retail for about $700.

Who’ll buy them? Firearms owners, for one, says Errett, who learned about the business by working in distribution for a decade. Crossbows are a blend between a traditional bow and a rifle, and have a rifle-like stock, a target scope and a trigger release. “What we sought to do was create a crossbow that had the feel of a fine firearm.” Other potential buyers include older hunters who wouldn’t buy a traditional bow, and disabled hunters.

Besides giving the company a chance to lure new customers, the crossbows will be offered to a wider range of retail outlets. About 1,000 retailers around the country currently offer Parker bows, and the crossbow sales will let the company expand its retail share by also going to other retailers, such as firearms dealers, in the same markets, he says.

Parker will be entering a market largely controlled by three other companies — two from the U.S. and one in Great Britain. But Errett sees a weakness. “They aren’t really in the bow business,” he says. “We’re the first ones to apply some of the mechanics and technology from the bow industry to crossbows. Our bows are lighter, quieter, faster, more aesthetically pleasing and more comfortable to shoot.”
Errett thinks the market has room for another supplier. “The market has been so good for existing crossbow manufacturers that they haven’t needed to apply any of the latest technologies,” he says. Parker already has expertise in that area. “We expect to slip right on beside them and do very well, too.”

The business has done well so far. In 2001 revenues rose more than 331 percent from 1998 to $5.2 million. Errett says 2002 was a solid if unspectacular year; for the first time in several years the company kept its work force steady at about 30 employees. Errett says the archery market softened slightly, and the firm was focused on positioning itself for this new initiative. “We held ourselves back essentially,” he says. “It was going fine but we wanted to open up some new markets.” Designing the new crossbows took about 18 months, he says.

Its 30,000-square-foot manufacturing plant is where the final assembly and packaging is done. It’s a bit misleading to say Parker employs just 30 people. It has a network of independent parts suppliers around the country, including a 50-employee firm in Florida that makes the metal parts for Parker bows. “We use just about all of their production” capacity, Errett says.

It will continue, of course, offering the conventional bows that have done well so far. It has close to a dozen models, made of a lightweight carbon glass and aluminum. The company’s market so far is dominated by hunters, and its bows sell well in states where hunting is popular, such as Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. Virginia is one of its strongest customer bases too, with 41 dealers.

The rest of this year Errett will focus on rolling out the new crossbow models and making sure his retailers are satisfied. “Our positioning of the product in major outlets has been very very good,” he says. “We already know that our bows are going to be a very good success.”

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