PRADCO Outdoor Brands

PRADCO Outdoor Brands (POB) is a Calera-based division of EBSCO Industries that manufactures and distributes hunting and fishing gear.

The name originated with the Plastic Research and Development Corporation (PRADCO), incorporated in 1960 in Fort Smith, Arkansas. That company became a leader in plastic injection moulding, and found commercial success with its "Rebel Minnow" line of plastic fishing lures. PRADCO was acquired by EBSCO in 1980 along with the Cordell Tackle Co. of Hot Springs, then the world's largest manufacturer of lures. The business continued to operate as PRADCO Engineering.

EBSCO quickly amassed a portfolio of rival lures through acquisitions. It bought James Heddon's Sons of Dowagiac, Michigan in 1983.

Bart Stephens, a grandson of Elton B. Stephens newly hired as a product manager, worked with PRADCO engineers in Arkansas, and Global Point Products, another EBSCO subsidiary in Rochester, New York, to develop a line of outdoor motion-activated and time-lapse camera systems. The resulting "BirdCam" was launched in 2006 and initially shared space with EBSCO's Moultrie Feeders at 150 Industrial Road in Alabaster. That product was followed by "PlantCam" and "ProjectCam" variations, aimed at gardeners and builders, to automate the creation of time-lapse movies documenting long projects.

Ron Ten Berge was president and general manager of PRADCO Outdoor Brands from 2013 to 2014. In 2015 PRADCO acquired Norman Lures, a company founded by Bill Norman who had made his name as an early innovator at PRADCO. EBSCO took the trademarks and lure moulds, while TNO Fishing purchased the manufacturing plant in Greenwood, Arkansas.

As it expanded, PRADCO Outdoor Brands was divided into hunting and fishing groups. The hunting group operates a manufacturing facility in Decatur, Morgan County. The business distributes from a 263,000 square-foot assembly and fulfillment facility in Calera, completed in 2014.

Product lines

PRADCO Hunting Ani-Logics Outdoors (acquired 2024) Carry-Lite Decoys and Accessories (acquired 2000) Code Blue Scents/D/CODE Scent Elimination (acquired 1999) Green Mountain Rifle Barrel Company Knight Rifles Knight and Hale Game Calls Moultrie Feeders (acquired 2003) Summit Treestands (acquired 2002) Texas Hunter (acquired 2018) Wingscapes (founded 2006)

PRADCO Fishing Arbogast (acquired 1997) Bandit Lures (acquired 2014) Bobbie Garland Crappie Baits Bomber Bait Co. (acquired 1988) Booyah Bait Co. Cotton Cordell (acquired 1980) Creek Chub Fairwaters Tackle Company (acquired 2008) Gene Larew Lindy Fishing Tackle (acquired 2008) Little Joe (acquired 2008) MAXXTUFF (acquired 2022) Money Lures (acquired 2008) Norman Lures (acquired 2016) Smithwick Lure Co. (acquired 1992) Thill War Eagle Custom Lures (acquired 2017) Whisker Seeker (acquired 2022) YUM Baits

References

• "Wingscapes Takes Flight: EBSCO Launches New Brand and New Product" (n. d.) EBSCO press release
• "Stephens Promoted to General Manager of Wingscapes" (n. d.) EBSCO press release
• "Ron Ten Berge Named President and General Manager for PRADCO Outdoor Brands." (January 1, 2013) PRADCO Outdoor Brands press release
• "PRADCO Outdoor Brands opens new DC, corporate offices in Alabama." (February 10, 2014) PRADCO Outdoor Brands press release
• Hendricks, Bryan (October 29, 2015) "Norman Lures acquisition good for Greenwood." Arkansas Sportsman
• Battisti, Terri (July 19, 2022) "Acquisitions Good or Bad." Bass Fishing Archives
• Harwell, Harper (June 11, 2024) "EBSCO Industries subsidiary acquires Minnesota wildlife nutrition company." Birmingham Business Journal

External links

• PRADCO Outdoor Brands website