The Manufacturers
Most crossbow manufacturers are located in the USA. There are some market leading companies who produce in the highest quality segment and also have correspondingly expensive sales prices. In addition to this large, well-known brands, there are also some smaller, not so well-known brands who only claim a small market share.
High-tech crossbows that are produced in the USA can be found primarily in countries where hunting with crossbows is permitted. In recent years, some manufacturers from Asia have also established themselves. Particularly noteworthy are the manufacturers from Taiwan, who are gaining more and more market share with excellent and robust quality at a price that is less than half of the expensive USA crossbows.
Taiwan Brands
The “Number One” Taiwanese manufacturer is the brand Man Kung. Since 2012 Man Kung.com is part of Mirito Outdoor B.V. and was founded by Alle Hooghiemstra.
“We have always been dedicated to the research and development of new products to meet current market demands. Man Kung`s outstanding quality has won us a high reputation from both domestic and international customer’s. Man Kung`s permanent makeup supply has obtained diverse certifications, welcome to contact them for more permanent makeup supply specifications”
Man Kung supplies customers on all continents from Taiwan. The products are very popular and have been around for years.
OEM Manufacturing
Original Equipment Manufacturing is a type of manufacturer capable of creating a product to a customer’s precise specifications – or at least as close to spec as the manufacturer is capable of, given any equipment or supply restrictions. OEMs are a vital piece of the product development puzzle for companies that have all the skills and resources required to ideate a product and perform the required market research, but lack the manufacturing capacity to produce it (especially at scale). Essentially, OEMs allow a business to produce a product and get it to market without needing to build, staff and run a factory.
Depending on the client’s requirements, an OEM may produce a wholly custom new product or a product from the OEM’s range that has been heavily customised.
OEMs also sometimes offer guidance on product design to ensure the end result can actually be manufactured. In any case, the client generally retains their intellectual property rights as it is their design, and would only give up parts of their IP if they have had to rely on the OEM for more than just manufacturing.
ODM Manufacturing
Original Design Manufacturers work differently from their OEM counterparts in that they typically do a lot of the product design work in-house, and in a sense lease out their products for other businesses (clients) to sell. Companies will often use ODMs as either a way to get to market very quickly, with less R&D cost, or because they see an opportunity in the ODM’s line of products and decide to approach the ODM to lease some of them. In these cases, the products are actually the ODM’s, and they have simply been altered in some way – usually just rebranded, but sometimes slightly customised in other ways – to suit the brand that wishes to sell them. This is also known as white label manufacturing.
Examples of Rebranding (White Labeling)
OEM “Man Kung Chester 430” (left picture) vs. ODM “Centerpoint Wrath 430” (right picture)
That said, not all ODMs operate exclusively as white label manufacturers. Some offer a custom product service for clients who have great ideas but lack the resources to design them.
Quality control during manufacturing
Prototypes of newly developed crossbow models undergo extensive stress and functional tests before they go into series production. The quality of the products is checked by the manufacturer at various stages of production. The most important aspects of efficient product control are the following points: safety in use, functionality and minimal manufacturing tolerances. The product liability required by law is 1-2 years (warranty) and is more or less claimed, especially for high-tech devices such as hunting crossbows.
Crossbow recalls in USA due to lack of product safety
Thousands of crossbows are being recalled as they can “discharge unexpectedly” according to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The Commission says approximately 13,300 Ravin R500 Model Crossbows sold in the United States are affected after a customer reported the crossbow discharging unexpectedly The crossbows were sold at stores nationwide including Ravin, Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, and Dick’s Sporting Goods stores from September 2021 through October 2023 for between $2,550 and $4,025. Consumers should contact Ravin for a free repair and immediately stop using the crossbow.
