president of the company, and also a member of the YPO, a global leadership community of extraordinary chief executives. Another member of the YPO, Safariland CEO Scott O’Brien, became aware that the Spectra fibers used in producing Safariland’s ballistic vests could be used to create a new style of fishing line. Safariland showed their new Spiderwire for the first time at the Shot Show in 1993, where it was a great success. Safariland lacking braid production capability needed to find a reliable source for this new opportunity. Lee had moved on from the braiding company and now had his own composites company, but Lee and Dave Burch with the help of a financial backer, and the guarantee of business from Safariland started BBS to be the sole producer of Spiderwire. Dave became the operating partner of this new enterprise and in 6 short months BBS was up and running with the production capability of 3 million plus yards of braid weekly. BBS had an advantage in that from the inception of the plant the goal was to produce small dimension braids utilizing multifilament UHMW (ultra-high molecular weight) fibers which are delicate yarns until braided. The advantage was that all the braiding and post braiding equipment was tailored to producing “clean” flawless raw braids. Over the last 3 decades BBS has developed numerous post-braiding systems to enhance the performance of its braided fishing line products. Dave has worked closely with many of the fishing industry’s leading companies, as BBS has provided over 30 turn-key OEM braids. Dave has had the opportunity to be on the inside planning of numerous brands and as such has garnered extensive knowledge of this segment of the industry. Dave was not an avid
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODA4MA==