Berkley buys Stren?

I was told this by several people at the Oklahoma Fishing Expo this weekend
and just wanted to confirm. Anyone have any info on this? If so, what's this
mean for the Stren line-up?


--
Charles B. Summers
Secret Weapon Lures
http://www.secretweaponlures.com

Charles wrote:
just wanted to confirm


Definitely true. No idea what it means for the Stren Lineup. They are still
not sure how much (if any) of the stren mfg will be moved from NC to Spirit
Lake.

RichZ©
www.richz.com/fishing

"RichZ" wrote in message
...
Charles wrote:
just wanted to confirm


Definitely true. No idea what it means for the Stren Lineup. They are
still
not sure how much (if any) of the stren mfg will be moved from NC to
Spirit
Lake.

RichZ©
www.richz.com/fishing



Dang! I use Stren so I don't have to use Berkley.

Definitely true. No idea what it means for the Stren Lineup. They are still
not sure how much (if any) of the stren mfg will be moved from NC to Spirit
Lake.

Aw [blank]! I have always loved stren and I never had anything but trouble w/
Trilene. I hope Berkley doesn't go and discontinue Stren, or worse, mess it
up. Of all the [blank blank blankity blank blankin' blank]!!
Pardon my french.

-Zimmy

I don't know that they will. They own spiderwire, but haven't melded that
into the Berkely line.

RichZ©
www.richz.com/fishing

The local Iowa spin is that Stren currently outsources much of their
manufacturing and that Berkley believes they can make it more profitable
by manufacturing here in Iowa. Locally they are talking 300 - 400 new
jobs. We'll see what the reality is.

IF they discontinue some of the Stren lines -- you'll find them close-
out priced at

http://www.ffo-tackle.com

Pure Fishing's on line outlet.



RichZ wrote:
Charles wrote:

just wanted to confirm



Definitely true. No idea what it means for the Stren Lineup. They are still
not sure how much (if any) of the stren mfg will be moved from NC to Spirit
Lake.

RichZ©
www.richz.com/fishing

Hey! Where have YOU been all winter, Fritz? Haven't seen a post by you
since... well, since I don't recall when.

RichZ©
www.richz.com/fishing

I've been hiding out --- tying flies and dreaming about trout fishing.


Planning a week of bass fishing at Lake Ouachita and then a week with
Ronnie, Charles and Joe at Center Hill TN and another week at Clarks
Hill SC/GA.

Won't make the classic, though.



RichZ wrote:
Hey! Where have YOU been all winter, Fritz? Haven't seen a post by you
since... well, since I don't recall when.

RichZ©
www.richz.com/fishing

I read about it a week ago..I don't think details are available yet..

"Charles Summers" wrote in message ...
I was told this by several people at the Oklahoma Fishing Expo this weekend
and just wanted to confirm. Anyone have any info on this? If so, what's this
mean for the Stren line-up?


Ristori: Berkley purchase stuns industry
Thursday, February 19, 2004

BY AL RISTORI
Star-Ledger Staff

In the fishing world, it's the equivalent of General Motors taking
over Ford, as Berkley stunned the sportfishing business by buying
archrival Stren last week.

Berkley is the largest fishing tackle company in the country, if not
the world, and it has been aggressively buying other firms for years.
Yet, taking over the company that has traditionally been its biggest
competitor in the premium line business was completely unexpected.

Berkley Bedell is a modern Horatio Alger. He started out selling flies
and rigs he made at home while a high school student in Spirit Lake,
Iowa, and eventually built his company into a giant in fishing lines
before expanding into rods, lures, boating accessories and many other
fields. After turning over the company to his son, Tom, Berkley Bedell
went on to become a U.S. congressman from Iowa.

Recent acquisitions of companies such as Abu Garcia have added the
famed Ambassadeur baitcasting models to the mix, and the spinning
selection includes Mitchell reels, but the company remains rooted in
Spirit Lake.

DuPont developed nylon monofilament for military purposes during World
War II, and its superiority as fishing line over the silk lines we
used before that was so great that the public quickly switched over.
DuPont's Stren brand was developed 45 years ago and has always been
considered a top-of-the-line item that Berkley tried to topple with
its Trilene lines. There have been huge advances in fishing line
technology over the years, but those two brands continued to fight
head-to-head in the market place.

It will be interesting to see how this purchase will affect both
brands. Those who swear by Stren can take heart because initial
indications are that Stren will continue to be marketed, though some
of the lower-volume specialty lines will probably be dropped.

http://www.nj.com/sports/ledger/inde...4973176050.xml

-Phish