Auction site

Auction Nov. 4th.

They've had issues for a while and apparently can't pay the bills. One article said they were $4million in debt and the port of Walla Walla, WA was trying to buy their building and lease it back to reduce their debt.

I live just down the road from Martin. My very first successful hunting with a Bow in my life was with a Martin.

I have since owned about 5 of them as the evolution of the products improved over 20 plus years.

It's sad to think they will be gone!

I guess they are holding onto their name but without a building and equipment I'm not sure what they will do. Founder of the company died this summer as well.

They used to make some awesome bows but quality slipped recently. I bought my last Martin in 2008 and it had to go back 3 times.

I knew Gail, we pheasant hunted the same farm every year.

Sad deal - Good people but very tough competition.

Back in the 70 the Bow I want really bad was the Martin Cougar Magnum , never could come up with the cash to get it, so hunted with my Jennings Shooting Star.

I have two Martin recurves. One of them is strung by my office door and is the bow I have been practicing with every day.

Sad to hear about the troubles.

Ex

Bummer.

My first bow, other than a fiberglass recurve when I was a kid, was a Martin SpeedFire. It was a dealer rep's demo bow that the shop was selling for way cheaper than retail. I killed my first archery buck 6 months after getting it, with an Easton Game Getter 2216 and an NAP Thunderhead. Killed a deer a year with it for 3 years, then went back to rifles for a few. Man that bow shot nice and was accurate, but it was in fact my first piece of tail, so I had nothing to compare it to... of course it seemed awesome. Still have it, hanging in the rack.

Seemed as a company they had been losing their way in the market for few years or so... along with the slip in QC, sadly it really was a matter of time.

same here, had a Couger and a Oscelot and they were good bows, I now have a 2006 Switchback XT and perfectly happy with it.

That's hysterical, I also shoot all my big game since 2006 with a SBXT

Ive looked at other bows ( Elite,Hoyt) but can't kind anything that is better than my XT

I guess this will be the last season for my 2006 Pantera. It's heavy, but has been a damn good bow. Solid, accurate, and easy to tune.

My second bow was a Martin. What I found strange is the guy who restrung it a few years ago never heard of Martin bows, but commented on how nice a bow it was. I figured he lived in a box.

When they started making bows with a 3 piece riser I pretty much figured the end was near at some point. It was nothing more than a cost cutting issue and they were buying CNC machinary that couldn't machine a full riser, only in 1/3rds.

hopefully the Howatt division will survive!

The CNC machines they have are 500k each! They are the very good. They can machine a whole riser no problem if they chose to. The same machines do all the one piece risers they build too.

The three piece riser was designed to eliminate the scrap from a block to make only one piece. using this three piece design they used about twice as much from each block rather then 1/3 riser, 2/3's back to the recycle bin. They could use about 70% of the block and only 30% in the recycle bin. This was an enormous cost savings for them. It was the pinned together pieces that freak people out. Myself included. My Firecat is built this way. It's as solid as a one piece riser so far. The pressure they assemble these together with is massive. I don't think it would ever break or come apart in that spot.

I've never head of a three Piece riser failing either.

I was in thePlant right after this design came out. It was a very big concern of mine as well when I saw this. I think it will be the future for others to follow.

What a shame. I used to shoot skeet with Gail every weekend. He was a great guy. I took him coyote calling once. He wanted to take a coyote with his bow. We never got one in close enough for a bow shot. I worked for him for a couple years when Martin's owned Drumheller Sports. Gail was as nice a man as you'd ever meet.

Mart

I can remember when the Martin Cougar line was "the" bow to watch for the release of the new model each year...and was in the same financial boat.

Had to shoot a Golden Eagle Falcon with the solid maple limbs and full length at 32 inch aluminum culverts in XX75 and a radical helical twist.

No doubt!

Will they still be putting out the posters and calendars???

Always thought that was a tactical marketing error on their part. Particularly when the growth in the sport of archery is from women and yutes.

Closing of the doors also marks the third archery company that DaNuge previously pimped that is no longer in biz. Browning and Renegade being the others - beware to Mathews!

I think of it more as something for the wimmens and yutes to aspire to or to have! I'm still have my Martin Cougar Speed Flite circa '94 as my backup! Overdraw and all!!!

Read yesterday they may avoid closing, but it involves the port of Walla Walla buying the land to reduce their debt to allow them to be sold.

Uncle Ted was big into Oneida years ago. They survived kinda.

Laura on the right (also a bills cheerleader) shoots for Strother now..She had an archery elk tag on the wasatch this year, havent heard if she got one tho.

Deal May Give Martin Archery New Lease, New Life

Editor's note: In an article appearing in the Aug. 27 Archery Wire, we informed readers about the uncertain future for historic bowmaker, Martin Archery, a company struggling to stay alive and hoping to find investors to relieve its overwhelming debt. According to the following report from the Sept. 22 Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, Martin's chances for survival are improving. - JRA


By Vicki Hillhouse
Special to The Archery Wire

WALLA WALLA - Martin Archery could have a shot at survival under a new owner.


A Los Angeles-based private equity firm would continue the manufacturing operation in an elaborate change of hands that includes help from the Port of Walla Walla.

Diversis Capital LLC Managing Director Ron Nayot said Friday (Sept. 20) it's too soon to disclose terms of the firm's proposal. However, the vision includes a long future for the more than 60-year-old company founded by the late Gail Martin and his wife, Eva.

"It's still early right now, and there's a lot more work to be done, but we're trying to work quickly to keep Martin Archery a surviving business," Nayot said.

The next step in the process comes Monday (Sept. 23) at a special meeting of the Port of Walla Walla. Port commissioners will consider purchasing the more than 4.5-acre complex on which the company operates off Heritage Road.

Port Executive Director Jim [bleep] said the economic development agency would pay $1.3 million for the property, then lease the property to the new business.

[bleep] emphasized the 4 p.m. meeting Monday at the Port office, 310 A St., is designed simply to seek approval of the proposal. He said it could take weeks to finalize negotiations, formalize paperwork and set the changeover in motion.

The Port's land buy, at about $400,000 less than the original listing price, would help pay down the tremendous debt that has led the company to the brink of closure.

"The Port Commission has a real emphasis on business retention," [bleep] said. "This has been a stalwart company for decades. (The Port) just feels to the point that we can save some jobs and grow the business it's an investment worth making."

He said the proposed lease would start with a 10-year timeline. "That's one of the big things for the Port," [bleep] said. "We want the company to stay in Walla Walla."

Diversis would likely form a new limited liability company under which it would continue manufacturing the bows that have been used by bowhunters and archers worldwide, and even in the spotlight of Hollywood films and through celebrity endorsements.

The three-generation business that produced at least 50,000 bows a year and at its height employed 100 people had been languishing amid debt. But few knew how serious it was until the July 21 death of founder Gail Martin at 89.

The man who had turned a hobby fletching business into a manufacturer with global reach was so highly regarded as a pioneer and Archery Hall-of-Famer that those in the industry to whom he owed money were inclined to cut the business more slack, Chief Executive Officer Tim Larkin said last month.

Although the business has returned to profitability, recapitalization is essential for the company's survival, he said. Employment is down to about 20 people at the plant.

Diversis investors believe through streamlining measures and re-energizing sales, the company can grow far beyond that.

"Long-term the goal is to make the business much larger in the community and bring more jobs to Walla Walla," Nayot said.

Started about four months ago, Diversis primarily focuses on small to middle-market investments of up to $20 million in equity, according to its website. The company targets underperforming businesses for rebuilding.

Nayot commended the Port and Martin family for what is a "challenging transaction," especially considering how close the business is to closure.

"It's been a great effort to rally together and save this thing," he said. "At the point that we're at it's definitely got the opportunity to thrive. A couple months later, it could have been in real peril."

This article appears with the permission of Vicki Hillhouse and the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin