World Trade Center Arkansas attends SHOT Show 2018

January 25, 2018 –  The World Trade Center Arkansas attended the Shooting Hunting Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show in Las Vegas, Nev. from Jan. 23-26, 2018. SHOT Show is the largest event of its kind in the world and is the premier trade show for the shooting, hunting, firearms and outdoor industries. 

“Arkansas has a strong history and culture of the outdoors,” said Melvin Torres, Director of Western Hemisphere Trade for the World Trade Center Arkansas. “This is reflected in its outdoor recreation and firearms industries in which these Natural State companies are able to compete on a global scale.”

Torres attended the show to help 20 Arkansas companies that were exhibitors. Clinger Holsters of Van Buren, Ark. who is a World Trade Center Arkansas client, was among the Arkansas companies who attended the Show.

“We want to expose the Clinger Holsters brand to dealers and distributors,” said Sherry Tedder, the company’s Chief Operations Officer. “Plus, we want to expose the brand to the press to help drive consumer demand.”

Tedder also said that they hope to engage with countries that have free trade agreements with the United States, especially Canada and Mexico.

Clear Ballistics, a World Trade Center Arkansas client and a company that creates synthetic gelatin for medical and ballistics purposes from Fort Smith, Ark. also attended the show.

“Our main goal was to connect with customers and expose our products to ammunition manufacturers,” said Joel Edwards, owner of Clear Ballistics and inventor of the gel. “We are especially interested in the German, French and Australian markets.”

As Director of Western Hemisphere Trade, Torres can facilitate this engagement and help make the connections necessary to these Arkansas products to foreign markets. Torres’ role to help Arkansas companies was also enhanced at the Show due to the lapse in federal funding at the beginning of this week. The lapse in funding meant that certain federal trade promotion organizations were not present at first to facilitate meetings between buyers and clients.

Governor Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas also attended SHOT Show this year. This was his third trip as Governor since taking office in 2015, including the two previous Shows in 2016 and 2017. Both years Governor Hutchinson made news by announcing new manufacturing jobs for Arkansas, including new and expanding companies.

At SHOT Show 2016, Governor Hutchinson announced that Sig Sauer was finalizing plans to locate a new facility in Arkansas, while Remington Outdoor Company planned an expansion of its existing facility in the state, creating approximately 50 new jobs and 84 new jobs, respectively. In 2017, he announced an expansion to the headquarters of the Rogers-based Daisy and Gamo Outdoors, creating 25 new jobs.

The Arkansas companies that attended SHOT Show included HatsanUSA Inc., Bresser-Explore Scientific, PS Products, Inc., Clinger Holsters, Jotto Gear, Dan’s Whetstone Company, Inc., DAC Technologies, Clear Ballistics, THOR Global Defense Group, Omni Explosives, Mahco, Inc., Outdoor Cap. Co., Singletree Printing Group, Breaux Outdoors, Thermold, Gamo Outdoors USA, Inc., Smith’s Consumer Products, Nighthawk Custom, Umarex USA, and Walther Arms, Inc.

For more information about SHOT Show, visit shotshow.org. If you are interested in attending a trade mission with the World Trade Center Arkansas, visit the the Center’s Trade Missions page or complete a trade request form.

The mission of the World Trade Center Arkansas is to grow trade and increase Arkansas exports by connecting Arkansas businesses to the world through international trade services. For more information and valuable updates, please follow the Center on Facebook and Twitter, or subscribe to the World Trade Center Arkansas newsletter.