Olin Corporation has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of White Flyer Targets—North America’s leader in recreational trap, skeet and sporting clays targets—from the firm it sold the business to in 1979. The ownership change is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2023, when the legendary company will rejoin the Winchester Ammunition business.
“We are extremely excited to bring together these two leading brands to serve the millions of people who participate in competitive and recreational shotgun shooting sports,” said Brett Flaugher, president of Winchester Ammunition. “The combination of Winchester and White Flyer should enhance the continued growth of trap, skeet, sporting clays and other shotgun sports. This acquisition offers the unique opportunity to provide comprehensive ammunition and clay target solutions for the thousands of shooting ranges across America.”
White Flyer Targets’ history stretches back more than a century with the 1880 patent granted to George Ligowsky for a flying, saucer-shaped target. His original design, however, left a lot to be desired. Many broke on launch and those that did manage to get airborne had a habit of “ringing” on impact with shot rather than breaking. Twelve years later, White Flyer opened for business after developing a different, higher-performance manufacturing process and composition.
Olin Corporation’s Western Cartridge company—which is now known as Winchester Ammunition—owned and operated White Flyer by the early 1900s. In 1979 Reagent Chemical and Research (now part of Reagent Diversified Holdings) purchased the clays manufacturer and retained it until this year.
“Winchester is the perfect choice to take ownership of our iconic brand,” said Robert Lippert, president and CEO of Reagent Diversified Holdings. “The pride our employees have in White Flyer Targets, LLC will only expand as they are welcomed into the Winchester team. We are confident that shooting sports, overall, will benefit from this pairing.”
Olin’s acquisition includes White Flyer’s five state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Coal Township, Pa.; Dalton, Ga.; Webb City, Mo.; Knox, Ind.; and, San Bernardino, Calif., as well as the company’s recently announced ECO FLYER target product line.
