A nice article from a couple of months ago.
Journal Sentinel Online Oct. 8th 2009.
Make sure to click on the photo gallery. The pics are better than the story.
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Journal Sentinel Online Oct. 8th 2009.
Make sure to click on the photo gallery. The pics are better than the story.
Krieger Barrels follows a time-honored process
By Joe Taschler of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Oct. 8, 2009 |(0) Comments
Richfield — Unless you know something about competition shooting or ammunition manufacturing, chances are you have never heard of Krieger Barrels Inc., a manufacturer of precision rifle barrels.
The company's story, and that of founder and owner John Krieger, is one of a Wisconsin entrepreneur who took his interest in shooting and turned it into a business that is known internationally in its market niche.
Krieger started his business in the middle of a recession that bears a striking resemblance to what the nation is weathering today. That downturn 27 years ago forever altered the manufacturing industry in Wisconsin and the United States.
Starting a business is tough enough. Starting one in a recession is scary, but it is possible, Krieger says.
"It was absolutely terrifying," Krieger said. "I used to wake up in the middle of the night and couldn't get back to sleep worrying about it.
"I was 38 and a number of things just said, 'It's time to do this.' It was pretty tight going" at first, he said.
He had a machining background, having learned a fair amount from his dad, who owned a machine shop.
"Almost invariably, any new business that ends up being successful has some kind of an edge," Krieger said. "They know something about the market or a process."
Krieger says his edge was his shooting background. He saw an opportunity to develop a product for a specific market - precision single-point cut-rifled barrels - and set out to capture as much of that market as he could.
When he founded the company, Krieger says he was guided by a no-nonsense philosophy: "Make the best barrels I possibly could, do my absolute best to keep customers 100% satisfied, and try to make a little money doing the first two."
While no business is completely recession-proof, Krieger Barrels has weathered the latest downturn amid the spike in demand for ammunition and firearms in the past year.
"I guess if you're not into the shooting sports you wouldn't really know about them," Peter Habel, president of the Hartford Conservation and Gun Club, said of Krieger. "They made their reputation the old-fashioned way. They earned it."
Slow production process
In an age when everything from food to information is expected to be instantly available, John Krieger insists that his product be produced slowly.
Krieger's process of making single-point cut-rifled barrels is among the most time-consuming ways to manufacture rifle barrels, Krieger and firearms industry experts said.
"It's just something that I dearly love," Krieger said. "On Sunday night, I'm looking forward to Monday morning."
Krieger's manufacturing process is old and proven, said Doug Wicklund, senior curator of the National Rifle Association's National Firearms Museum in Arlington, Va. The rifling concept predates the founding of the nation, Wicklund said.
"One example around the Revolutionary War period would be the craftsmen that made Kentucky rifles, near Lancaster in Pennsylvania," Wicklund said. "The style of rifling is very, very similar to the single-point cut rifling that Krieger utilizes."
"They're one of the respected companies out there," Wicklund added.
In addition to the competition rifle barrels, his company also makes test barrels for major U.S. ammunition manufacturers who are working 24 hours a day to keep up with demand and who must regularly fire rounds from their production lines as part of quality control and safety testing.
Krieger Barrels employs about 30 people. The company manufactures about 12,000 barrels annually.
Krieger says running the business over the years has involved overcoming constant challenges. Like the time years ago when, at 2 a.m., he had exhausted every possibility for why a machine wasn't working properly. Exasperated, he checked the oil pumps. They needed to be replaced.
Middle-of-the-night machine diagnoses are the things that small-business owners do to succeed. "You're not going to get rich doing it," Krieger said.
John Kubichek, a past president and current board member of the Daniel Boone Conservation League in Richfield, began shooting competitively in 1970. He has won multiple Wisconsin and Midwest shooting championships and has set several national shooting records.
He no longer shoots competitively but swears by the Krieger brand.
"They make very, very well respected target barrels," he said.
He compared competition shooting to golf.
"If you're a golfer that goes out and shoots a 100 for 18 holes, a club doesn't make that much difference," he said. "If you're a pro that's averaging 69 for 18 holes, you need your clubs to be perfect."
At age 65, Krieger says he plans to continue working. "I don't have any intention of retiring," he said.
As far as advice for anyone thinking of starting a business:
"Try to do something that no one else is doing," Krieger said. "Don't take the same pie and keep cutting it up smaller. Try to come up with a new pie."
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