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WildTech Corporation and FireTacks Celebrating ten years in business: |
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Written by Linda K Burch
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Tuesday, 22 December 2009 21:29 |
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WildTech Corporation and FireTacks Celebrating ten years in business:
 WildTech Corporation is pleased to announce their tenth anniversary, TEN YEARS of keeping the world safe when navigating in the dark using FireTacks trail markers and other products in their lineup. “Your Way In, Your Way Out” is their motto.
The original concept of reusable long lasting 3 dimensional trail markers has not changed. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” says Linda Kistler Burch, President of WildTech. “The concept of FireTacks was several years in the making, from conception to field testing to production. FireTacks products are now used world wide by a variety of end users, in a variety of industries.
 Initially created so Burch and her son Matt would not get lost going deep into the public lands where they first hunted white tail deer, Burch has had FireTacks or prototypes in Minnesota forests since 1996. And, they are still there shining bright.
“FireTacks have grown in popularity for many reasons” explains Burch. “They last a long time with zero maintenance even when left in the woods for years. They are reusable. The pins are not long enough to cause cambium tree damage so they are eco-friendly in a world that demands that, especially international markets. They are zero maintenance, have no parts or batteries to burn out or wear out, they do not fall out or interfere with eco-systems by being invasive like other products which require longer pins to stay in trees”. In short, FireTacks are not a fad that we see come and go at the trade shows every year. They are basic, they are the brightest, they are the best and they WORK..
Periodically, Burch will see spurts of orders from unlikely sources. “I remember several years ago when the scientific community first discovered FireTacks for night time research” says Burch “Scientists want a non-invasive low impact economical way to access remote areas for their research and FireTacks were the perfect solution”. When night time treasure hunting in urban and suburban areas gained popularity, FireTacks were the product of choice. “Many markets have discovered us when we had not been looking for them. Every year, we see something new” say Burch.
The original FireTacks lineup was the pyramid 3D and the cube 4D in three colors, Blaze Orange, Ice White and Stealth Brown. Stealth has been hugely popular because of the secret process of custom inking the reflective material before production. In fact, after Blaze Orange, Stealth is the most popular world wide.
In 2009, several new configurations were designed based upon customer demand. FireFly (florescent yellow green) was launched in 3D and 4D and now outsells many other FireTacks colors. “We listened to our customers and designed what they wanted” says Burch. “FireFly is great because it blends into the woods but is brighter than even our Blaze Orange”. Also new last year was FireTape in Ice White. The sale of Combo Kits has sky rocketed and sometimes Burch cannot keep up with demand. “We give our dealers the freedom to custom build their Combo Kits based upon their specific customer needs and demands, and they love that” says Burch. She ended up going directly to international manufacturers in Europe for some base products due to the increased demand in the last two years where US Distributors could not keep up with WildTech’s needs.
 Ten years ago, Burch, an Enrolled Agent and self employed tax accountant, had a dream to make FireTacks and WildTech her main career. She sold her accounting practice three years ago and worked for the buyers until recently. “That dream will happen in 2010” says Burch. “It took a long time and a lot of sweat equity, but it’s happening”.
When asked what accounts for the success of the FireTacks product line, Burch notes that when you have a good idea that is not a fad, is high quality, is fairly priced, is maintenance and hassle free, is eco-friendly and applies to many different end users – the public responds both short term and long term and sustains the idea with product loyalty.
“ ‘Never never never give up’ is one of my mottos”, says Burch. “I feel very blessed to have stayed in business for ten years, and I look forward to many more years to come”.
For more FireTacks information, go to www.firetacks.com or www.lindaburch.com. You can also Google FireTacks for the hundreds of other web sites where they are featured.
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