Minnesota based CatTails Corporation (CTC), a division of Wild Tech
Corp., today announced the introduction a several revolutionary new
hunting and outdoor products.
The FireTacks product line debuted at the Minnesota Deer Classic trade show on March 16-17-18th at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. FireTacks is at www.firetacks.com on the internet and will be available soon at local sporting goods stores. The products are the brainchild of Linda Burch who has partnered with fellow hunter, Kurt Baumgartner, and both entrepreneurs are pursuing the American Dream through their shared love of hunting and the outdoors. Kurt is a veteran hunter of some 25 years, while Linda is a tenderfoot with 10 years under her belt. Both hold professional "day jobs", but have always dreamed of breaking into the hunting industry as a career. The product line is touted as "The Most Technologically Advanced Forest Navigation System In The World".
The signature product of CatTails is "Fire Tacks" Trail Markers, a line of custom manufactured three dimensional multi-directional trail marking tacks utilizing a new retro-reflective technology developed by 3M Company for commercial applications. CatTails Corporation has translated this technology to the hunting and outdoor recreational industries. Five years ago, Linda was growing weary of losing her tack trails deep in the public forests she then hunted. "Old fashioned tacks would fall off the trees, rust, or break. But worst of all, they would lose virtually all reflectivity in any type of ambient moisture conditions, like rain, dew, fog, or even snow", Burch says. "I lost track of the number of hunts that were spoiled because morning moisture conditions made trails tacks disappear and had me wandering around the woods lost till the sun came up. I was not satisfied with any of the tack designs on the market either. They were difficult to handle and of inferior quality". Linda's husband, Mark Burch, a non-hunter and 3M'er for 25 years, brought
home some of the new reflective material to help solve his wife's dilemma.
Applying hand cut pieces of the reflective material on purchased push
pins or tacks, Linda made her own test trail markers and, after that,
she never got lost in the woods again when using them. However,
working full time as a tax accountant left little time for developing a
marketable product, until friend and fellow hunter Kurt Baumgartner
found out about the home spun tacks and thought they were a hit.
Kurt and Linda also discovered that they brought complimentary expertise
and talents to the table for executing the business start-up and running
the company. After much planning, research and development, Fire
Tacks products were patented and trademarked, and Wild Tech Inc., dba CatTails
Corporation was born in late 2000. The CatTails name
was derived from Linda's hunting nickname of Catwoman, combined with Kurt's
hunting nickname of "Tail-Feathers". "How we got our nicknames
is another story for another time," quipped Burch.
CatTails Corporation signature products include Fire Tacks brand 3D
and 4D re-usable Trail Markers available in Blaze (orange), Ice (white)
and Stealth (brown). Fire Tape brand Trail Ribbon is a reflective
re-usable marking ribbon for both day and night use. Fire Tacks Gear
Markers round out the product line with highly reflective die cut marking
strips for tree stands, steps, gates, mailboxes, trail posts or any other
application that would require excellent nighttime and
Coming soon in the line, are Fire Tacks Recreational Trail Markers, Land and Property Markers, and Marine Markers for marking structures to be visible up to 200 yards. The products can be used by hunters, anglers, ATVers, snowmobilers, cross country skiers, hikers, trekkers or other outdoor enthusiasts who need to safely and securely navigate both woods and water at night or in low light conditions. "These are revolutionary and unique products, with high tech physical shapes that work in conjunction with high tech performance", adds Baumgartner. "Plus, most of our products are re-usable. There's never been anything like them.". For further information
about Linda K. Burch, Kurt A. Baumgartner,
Linda K. Burch
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"And,
were not talking electronics here", says Burch.. "GPS Batteries wear
out and satellite connections can be lost in deep woods." "Been there,
done that", she continues. "No, this is an old fashioned idea with
an awesome high tech twist, developed by hunters, for hunters." I've been
the crash test dummy for the last five years, and the FireTacks products
work!", adds Burch.
