Re: AICS new skins=Viperskins rip off!
I have just got back from the show and will add to this interesting thread.
We have known for a long time that we needed to replace our stock sides/skins but there is more to it than that.
It is worth reminding everyone that less than 7 years ago Accuracy International was a bankrupt company which was closed down. We have done a lot with AI since then, improved quality, increased production, introduced a new series of weapons, the AX, brought the AS50 to production, added facilities, equipment and people. We have brought back manufacturing in-hoouse which had been moved to subcontractors. We have invested heavily in AI and in AINA. We have a facility in VA. WE make AICS in the USA and have done for 6 years. We just opened a new factory in the UK close to our main factory for Chassis Systems. There are many product improvements we have know about which we have changed, there are others we know about and will change, there are others we do not yet know about and will continue to change.
All this has taken time and money and we are not a huge corporation with deep pockets. All of our growth has been internally funded since we restarted the company in May 2005 and we continue to grow and improve our products and service. Our company is built on the basis of trust, mutual respect and teamwork and it takes a long time to build a new company from the old one which is what we have done. There are less than 20% of our employees who were with the old company.
Enough of the history. Viperskins is a good product and filled a market gap. We always planned to introduce new stock sides/skins as retrofits for our AW, AE and AICS. We now have them in both thumbhole and pistol grip. We did not copy anyone on the way there as we do not need to copy something we already have. We have never copied anyone's design anyway.
We will be in full production with product on the market by the end of March. The price will be similar to the price of our old set of stock sides/skins at around $120 a set.
We have invested in new tooling which allows for flexibility with our different models, right and left hand for example.
I hope this will clarify the situation for everyone.
You will continue to see improvements in service and supply from AI. If there is something we are not supplying and someone fills that gap then so be it but they should make the most of it while they can and Viperskins have done that.
Unless it is a product we are not interested in, you can be sure we will have something before long at a competitive price and delivery with AI quality.
Tom Irwin
Accuracy International
