By Brenda Valentine
First Lady of Hunting®
September 18, 2009

Recently, it was my pleasure to visit with the management staff of the VANGUARD USA, Inc. facility in Whitmore Lake, Michigan. Until that visit I was familiar with the Vanguard name when associated with upper-end photography and video accessories—such as state of the art fluid heads, tripods, and pressure sealed protective cases—however I had no idea they also offered such an extensive line of hunting accessories. VANGUARD® is a privately owned international company with major facilities in the United States, Europe, Japan, South America, and China.

Unlike most product suppliers, VANGUARD® has no middleman. The company has its own research and design laboratories as well as optical and coating patents and its own  manufacturing and shipping facilities. Superior quality for the price is the main focus for all VANGUARD® products. And, since the company does it all from research to delivery, the price is always much lower than the competition. In today's economy, we're all looking to get the most value for our dollar.

 
VANGUARD® hunting products are distributed by a number of well-known rep groups around the country. My old friends at Blue Ridge Marketing cover most of the southeastern United States and also sell those great Parker compound and crossbows.

          
The hands-on product presentations were given by a couple of the in-house research and development team, Thomas Delhey and Lloyd Duston. Both are avid hunters as are several other members of the U.S. facility.

Several in-depth Power Point programs explained the various manufacturing processes required to produce a finished product worthy of the VANGUARD® logo. Kim Vickory (on the left) is a familiar face in the hunting industry. She has a long career in sales and marketing and is also an accomplished hunter and Women in the Outdoors instructor.
 

Read all of Brenda's Field Notes