Questions!
1. What changes do you plan?
2. What do expect to continue?
3. What will you do to build on and sustain ULA's excellent reputation?
4. Why did you buy the business?
5. What "message(s)" do you want to convey to the lightweight backpacking community?
6. Any new changes to the product line?
7. Any changes the the manufacturing process? (I.E. new toys? More people?)
8. How did Brian approach you with the offer?
9. A short trip history. What trips stood out (good and bad). When did you start lightening the load?
10. What skills will you add to the company.
11. What's your favorite piece of gear?
12. Will ULA continue the Amigo Pro water filter, which I notice has recently been deleted from the product list?
Anwers!
1 The major change we plan is to remain open all year, and to increase production in order to meet the demand. We have moved into a much bigger space (the ladies no longer have to use the bathroom in Brian's house), which among other things will allow us to build our parts and sub assembly inventories so we will be able to fulfill orders within a few days of their being placed year round. Also, we currently have 3 retail outlets, as production grows we'd like to increase that. If anyone out there knows of a good high end store that may like to carry our packs, let me know
2.We will continue using the same employees, materials, designs and maintain our obsession with quality. Although we obviously want the business to grow, we have no plans produce ULA packs anywhere but Logan Utah.
3. We will continue to use Brian's proven designs and production practices. Although it's not obvious to the casual observer, Brian has never used anything but the finest materials regardless of cost and we intend to continue that practice.
4 and 8. For the past several years we have been living on the east coast, and we were ready for a change. I wanted a business that related to my passions, was the right scale, produced quality products and was located in or could be moved to a cool place. Sally bought me a Catalyst for Christmas a few years ago and during the course of that transaction she found out that Brian was thinking of selling the business. I had known Brian since 2000, and since it appeared that ULA fit the business model we were looking for, I gave him a call. It took a while before the timing was right for both of us, but we closed the deal in mid August, i moved out to Logan in September, we moved the shop, and are up and running.
5 The message i would most like to convey to the community is that we will continue to produce the best products that we can, but that innovation ultimately comes from the end users. Don't be shy about telling me what works what doesn't and what you want to see in the future.
6 yes, we are planning to bring out a new product early next year, interestingly, it was an idea both Brian and i had independently of each other, we talked about it at one of our early meetings, he whipped one up and I've been testing it for the last few months. we are working on the final tweaks now and that's all I'm going to tell you. Beyond that there are a few prototypes floating around the office at least one of which will probably appear in the next year. We also feel that backpackers aren't the only people who need well designed, strong, light weight equipment, so look for us to branch out into other endurance pursuits also. Again, if someone out there sees a need that's not being met, give us a shout.
9 I've never had a bad trip, some miserable ones for sure, but i firmly believe that the point of living is to garner good stories, so anything that results in a good story i consider a success. It's hard for me to pick a favorite, Queen Charlotte track in New Zealand, Bear Trap Canyon in MT, Sally just returned from a 2 week trip on and around the Austurinas region in Spain and she would rank that pretty high, any place in the Grand Canyon, and the highly under appreciated medicine bow range in Wyoming.. I started to lighten my load after hauling 45 #s down the Grand Canyon, now I'll grant you that a sizable chunk of that was adult beverages and they disappeared while at the bottom, but I realized that lighter was for sure better .
10 I think the biggest thing Sally and I bring is fresh energy, I've started and run several businesses (this is the first one I ever bought) and I speak from experience that most entrepreneurial folks start to lose a bit of interest after 5 to 7 years, and it's best to bring in fresh faces at that point.
11 My Catylast
12 Ah the amigo, well, I wish the amigo was going to be continued, but the deal is this, Brian produced the Amigo under a handshake agreement with the guy who came up with the idea, but he wasn't comfortable continuing the agreement with me, and instead offered to sell it, without going into details, the numbers didn't work and I essentially gave it back to him and I don't know what he'll do with it.
I thank you for all your interest, and hope this answers some of your questions. To folks are our lifeblood and we don't intend to forget that
/ Chris and Sally
