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Thread: Company Profile: Vltor Weapon Systems

  1. #1
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    Company Profile: Vltor Weapon Systems

    Although Vltor does not exclusively produce AR parts and accessories, I felt this was the best location for this.

    The purpose of this post is to provide a little more information about various firearms manufacturers; especially those located within the great state of Arizona and provide some more information about the products they produce, many of which are in use throughout the world, by members of the U.S military, law enforcement, and civilian shooters alike.

    Arizona has some of the best firearms laws within the United States and is home to quite a few firearms manufacturers and companies.

    After meeting with Kino Davis the Operations Manager at Vltor during the 2011 SHOT show I set up an appointment to go down and see them in person. The infamous markm and I drove down and checked them out. Kino served in both the U.S. Army and the U.S. Coast Guard and retired in 2008.

    The first thing that struck me was the building itself. It was very low key and we would later discover that the size of the building was deceiving.

    Kino brought us into the conference room and gave us a brief history of the company and an overview of operations.

    Vltor was started in a garage by Eric Kincel in Idaho in 2001. Vltor was bought out in 2004 by Abrams Airborne Manufacturing which has been in the aerospace industry for over 40 years. Vltor moved down to Tucson later that year. Eric Kincel is currently the General Manager of Vltor. Vltor currently employs approximately 150-180 employees. Abrams Airborne as a ISO 9001 and AS9100 certified manufacturer.

    In addition to Vltor, Abrams also owns MILKOR USA which manufactures the M-32 revolving 40MM grenade launcher primarily in use by the United States Marine Corps.

    Enough of this, let’s get down to it!

    We entered the facility and met some of the people behind the scenes. Based on the conversations we had there is a lot of talent at Vltor. My impression was that Vltor was more like a large family rather than a company.

    We were amazed at the actual size of the facility. From the outside it appears to be a large warehouse, but we were wrong. There were several buildings on site and many different projects happening at once. In addition to the Vltor products and MILKOR grenade launchers being produced people were busy building, painting and working on a variety of aerospace projects.

    Vltor also has immediate access to a nearby airport and a range. This allows potential clients easy access to the company with the ability to test fire different products right on site.

    We were able to see the MILKOR launchers being produced, as well as the Vltor VIS and MUR. There is a lot of detail put into the products. We were told that all products are accompanied by a ticket that has to undergo several inspections and checks throughout the QA/QC process.

    One of the products I was interested in was the Vltor MUR. Kino explained to us that the impetus behind the design of the MUR was to limit the amount of receiver flex that is exhibited by the M4 carbine. There is some research that indicates receiver flex can be a cause of bolt breakage and of course, loss of accuracy. There is a lot of work put into the MUR. It undergoes two heat treats and a cryogenic process. It can be had with or without forward assist mechanism.

    The next item we viewed was the Vltor VIS. This was very interesting as we were able to see it in various stages of production to include the shot peening machine that all VIS’s are run through. The difference was very evident when holding the VIS before and after the process. Equally impressive was the weld line where the receiver and upper are joined together. It was virtually undetectable.

    Another item that I was curious to know about was the development of the BCM Gunfighter charging handle. The owner of Bravo Company approached the minds at Vltor, explained the problem and asked them for a solution. The end product is the Gunfighter, which as many know is one of the better products to hit the AR market in the last few years and is a vast improvement over the standard AR charging handle. The merits of the Gunfighter are well-known so I won’t get into that here.

    One of the more intriguing items of the last year is probably the Vltor A5 stock kit. The kit was specially developed for the needs of the U.S. Marine Corps in order to improve the current M16A4 platform. The genius of it is that you can use the same buffer spring and existing M4 style stocks and you only need to replace the buffer and receiver extension. I believe that Robb Jensen and some others already running this set up. I’ll be doing some testing with one myself in the near future.
    In addition to their well known projects and products, Vltor is also working on a Foreign Weapons Program. The origins of this project arose from the military needs of having reliable sources of Soviet bloc weapons that can be used to conduct foreign weapons training for our military personnel.

    Until recently there was little interest on our military people having this knowledge. However, the prolonged deployment of our men and women in uniform to the Middle East which is awash with these weapons shows the need for them to have that knowledge. Using old stocks of captured weapons is not a reliable or always safe source for these weapons. Having personally worked on a variety of Soviet weapons in Iraq and in Afghanistan it was a definite challenge to always keep them up and running, especially with the variances that can be encountered. The program is also going to address issues such as spare parts, tools, training and gages which is more often than not overlooked.

    We were also able to put hands on a SCAR 17, which was outfitted with their SCAR stock adapter and the CASV rail system. I was amazed at how light this set up was. In fact, I am pretty sure that it is lighter than my 11.5” SBR. Some people like the SCAR stock and some hate it. Vltors’ offering gives you the opportunity to set up however you want. The rail system is a definite plus. You can add rail segments just about anywhere you want to include 12 o’clock forward of the front flip sight. According to conversations we had, at least one SEAL team was already looking at making some purchases and changing their SCAR’s.

    Some of the other projects on the near horizon are in house designed and built AR NFA weapons. They also want to go after a larger chunk of the firearms market by being a manufacturer and supplier of OEM parts and accessories.

    At the end of the tour we ended up back in the conference room and were met by the president of Abrams Airborne, Gary Abrams. He asked what we thought about what we had seen and wanted to know if there was anything we didn’t like. He emphasized that Vltor was committed to producing quality products and that he is a big supporter of the 2nd Amendment and the shooting sports. I can definitely say that markm and I walked away with a different view of what we thought Vltor was about and what they do.

    I would like to thank Kino Davis, Gary Abrams and the other employees who took the time to show us around and answer questions.

    Due to government regulations we weren’t allowed to take any pictures so I apologize in advance for the lack of visual stimulation.



    Owner/Instructor at Semper Paratus Arms

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SemperParatusArms/

    Semper Paratus Arms AR15 Armorer Course http://www.semperparatusarms.com/cou...-registration/

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    Master Armorer/R&D at SIONICS Weapon Systems- http://sionicsweaponsystems.com

  2. #2
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    Great write up. I'm pretty envious of your opportunity.

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    Very cool write up. I always love to hear about someone who has achieved the American Dream.

    Sorry if I missed it, but would I be correct in assuming that Mr. Davis is the inspiration/designer of BCM's mini-dissipator upper know as the Kino?
    Last edited by Dunderway; 02-08-11 at 00:54.

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    Wish they were in Phx, I would try and get a job there ASAP!

  5. #5
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    Yes, he was the inspiration for that configuration.

    Quote Originally Posted by Dunderway View Post
    Very cool write up. I always love to hear about someone who has achieved the American Dream.

    Sorry if I missed it, but would I be correct in assuming that Mr. Davis is the inspiration/designer of BCM's mini-dissipator upper know as the Kino?



    Owner/Instructor at Semper Paratus Arms

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SemperParatusArms/

    Semper Paratus Arms AR15 Armorer Course http://www.semperparatusarms.com/cou...-registration/

    M4C Misc. Training and Course Announcements- http://www.m4carbine.net/forumdisplay.php?f=141

    Master Armorer/R&D at SIONICS Weapon Systems- http://sionicsweaponsystems.com

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    I was curious about some technical data on the EMOD A5 not on their site. I sent them an email, I received a reply as soon as they were open for business again. I'm impressed with the quality of their products that I have as well. If they made a complete gun, especially an AK, I'd buy it.

  7. #7
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    A valuable addition to our collective knowledge base -- thank you for this. Interesting how a well-written piece doesn't really seem to lose anything when pictures are not available. The tendency these days is to take the opposite approach with excellent photos and sparse writing. Clearly, there is room for both approaches.

    Naturally, this piece leaves me thinking that there might be some wisdom in doing something similar for other players in the industry.

    AC

  8. #8
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    Great write up.

    Quality products from a quality company.

    How many CEO's have gone on record asking somebody who's just toured their facility if any flaws have been identified in their organization? That's rare as hen's teeth. Kudos to Vltor for that alone.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Army Chief View Post
    Naturally, this piece leaves me thinking that there might be some wisdom in doing something similar for other players in the industry.

    AC
    That would be awesome.
    We miss you, AC.
    We miss you, ToddG.

  10. #10
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    I've had the distinct pleasure of dealing with Blaine Wilson of VLTOR, and he was extremely gracious and made sure I was completely satisfied with my product. I am confident that his attitude permeates throughout the rest of the company.

    Excellent write-up, IG. It further reinforces my opinion that VLTOR is one of the companies which can be categorized as the cream of the crop.
    "We are oft to blame in this / 'Tis too much proved -- that with devotion's visage / And pious action we do sugar o'er / The devil himself."
    Μολὼν λαβέ | NRA Lifetime Member

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