Pro Tool Industries, Inc., Pottstown, Penn. maker of Woodman's Pal line of land clearing tools, has announced the formation of an exclusive branding agreement with author and outdoorsman J. Wayne Fears. Fears will write an extensive line of pocket reference guide booklets plus design survival knives, related tools, products and accessories.
This announcement is among a series of new initiatives from Pro Tool Industries for 2009, including a brand new ballistics line, a new utility knife and saw line, two collaborations with custom knife makers and an accessories collection.
Company Vice President and General Manager Mark G. Scheifley says, “Our outdoor, sporting and country retailers and customers have been asking us to offer more products of the same quality, utility and value as our very popular Woodman's Pal axe/machete tool line (since 1941) which has grown exponentially over recent years.
We were looking to continue our growth and broaden our lines in 2009. One of the areas of great interest from our market research was reference guides, particularly small, pocketsize field references. So, early this year, Pro Tool made a decision to pursue this innovative product line. Our parameters were simple. We demanded this line adhere to our very highest standards of thorough, useful, quality information and composition; and it had to be user friendly….in other words, truly top notch, with all the hallmark standards our Woodman's Pal line is known for. We knew we had to look for and bring on the very best, most talented author who would not only possess the expertise as a writer, but real world experience in the subject areas we designed for our pocket reference guide booklets.
This author , we believed, would have to be a fellow outdoorsman…the ultimate, down-to-earth sportsman (just like our customers) who could bring to our loyal retailers and their customers the kind of “how to” information they could use in the field, on a hunt, in the countryside, at camp, in any situation, day in and day out.
After researching and interviewing many options, we finally met the man whom our family believes is the “gold standard”: J. Wayne Fears. We immediately flew to Huntsville, Alabama to get things rolling in the spring of this year. After visiting with Fears at his headquarters outside Huntsville, we were convinced that the scope of our plan would be enhanced not only by including a very broad, wide-ranging how-to pocket reference guide series, but also related knives, products, and accessories designed by and used in the field by Fears on his many expeditions, in situations and conditions…some good…some not so good! Survival tools prove their worth when things get bad.
Our family is both proud and extremely pleased to have Fears on our creative team as a unique powerhouse of knowledge and ideas built on over 40 years of real-life, field experience. We look forward to many years of productive, exciting offerings that will benefit our customers and their dealers.”
J. Wayne Fears has been an outdoor writer for more than four decades. His work has appeared in most of the leading outdoor magazines with over 4800 articles and 22 books published. In 2005, he retired from the Progressive Farmer magazine, the nation's largest and oldest magazine for farmers and ranchers, after serving 11 years as the magazines wildlife management editor.
During the 1970's and 80's Fears was the wildlife manager for Gulf States Paper Corporation and served as the business manager for their Forest Recreation Division. His work in exploration, wildlife management and writing has taken him around the world and he has been elected a member of the prestigious Explorer Club and awarded the University of Georgia's Distinguished Alumni Award. He has received numerous awards for his writing and conservation work.
Fears stated at the branding agreement signing at the Huntsville, Alabama airport, “Pro Tool has offered me a great opportunity to publish valuable no-nonsense information on a wide range of outdoor subjects that will be available to thousands of outdoor enthusiasts at a fair price. Quality products such as the survival knife I designed will be a part of this branding program. It is a win-win for outdoor enthusiasts, Pro Tool and I as a professional outdoorsman.”
