Quote from Chris at Virtue:
Virtue and MacDev will be showing off the upcoming Drone 2 guns at the Extravaganza. The Drone 2 will be marketed as a best-in-class mid range that among other features is completely hoseless, very light weight thanks to an extremely reliable Delrin drive system, fully decked out in rubber, and of course, upgradeable with an OLED screen + other upgrades.
Klick aufs Bild für eine größere AnsichtVirtue and MacDev announced a joint partnership today which will transform the gun market by bringing high-end paintball guns to Virtue Paintball. The alliance brings together long time manufacturer MacDev with Virtue Paintball, the leader in goggle and loader technology.
The Paintball Extravaganza at the end of February will officially kick off the new relationship, with the launch and display of several new models.
Virtue will integrate the MacDev gun line-up into its product line offered to dealers and teams, as well as offering support and sales of the new line-up at all the PSP and scenario events attended by Virtue. In 2015, Virtue will be offering players the choice of the new MacDev Clone 5, Drone 2, and Cyborg 6.
“You might say Virtue is obsessed with providing choice to the players. You can use the compact, but a high capacity loader like the Spire 260, or use the even smaller Spire 200, that still holds more paint than its competitors.
The new Contour and Extend VIO goggle systems follow the same philosophy, as not every player has the same size face,” said Virtue President Mike Newman, “All that has been missing from Virtue, was not just a gun, but a full range of guns.”
“We have been manufacturing paintball products for over 20 years, and this new agreement between Virtue and MacDev is perfectly complementary; the best loader and goggle, meet the best guns,” said Bourke Grundy, product development manager at MacDev.
"MacDev have always had a loyal following, yet lacked the infrastructure to make the full impact on the market their products deserve,” said Nick Truter, Virtue’s European Director of Sales and Marketing, “This new partnership with Virtue unites some of the most talented personnel within the industry, allowing us to collectively raise the bar when it comes to servicing and satisfying our customers’ needs."
Unlike other gun manufacturers who outsource production, MacDev has direct, full control over the manufacturing process right down to producing their own solenoid in house. Other companies buy off the shelf solenoids or outsource the production, which leads to both supply chain issues, and even worse introduces inconsistencies into the line.
“No one else can match the fact that every machined part, even the solenoid is produced in-house,” said Dianne King, President of MacDev, “All that has been missing is the right partner who can bring a level of sales, service and support equal to that of our production capabilities. Virtue is that company.”
“MacDev has a long and storied history as one of the oldest companies in the paintball industry, but because of their separation from the main paintball market in North America, MacDev has never really been able to gain a strong foothold as one of the leading gun brands in the USA. This partnership sets the stage to change that,” said Chris Williams, Vice President of Virtue Paintball.
The scope of the agreement initially covers North and South America, and dealers with existing relationships will not be affected as MacDev will continue operating directly with those companies as usual. In addition to collaboration between MacDev and Virtue on product development, this new partnership means increased support, faster response times, as well as better sales and marketing. ---- In August, 2012 Virtue Paintball unveiled the Spire. Its purpose was to deliver to the best players in the world a jam-proof feeding system, fast tool-less assembly, in an aggressive, light weight, compact design that holds more paint than its competitors. A year later, the Spire 260, was launched, which brought a whopping 260 round capacity loader to the market that was still smaller than it’s sub-200 round competitors. In early 2014, Virtue began shipping the revolutionary VIO goggle system, which is being widely regarded as the most comfortable and customizable goggle in paintball. Within two years, Virtue Paintball has become the leader in goggle and loader technology.
In 1994, MacDev released the MAC Attack air system, the first ever production version all aluminium paintball regulator. To this day, all aluminium regulators are used by every major paintball air manufacturer.
In 2003, the MacDev Cyborg was released, marking the first complete paintball marker made by MacDev. To this date, the direct porting and high efficiency valve system of the Cyborg marker is at the apex of poppet valve technology. The Cyborg continues with the release of the Cyborg 6.
In 2007, MacDev released a revolutionary new spool valve marker, the Droid. This independant valve design redefined the performance of spool valves, forever raising the bar of efficiency and speed. In 2015, MacDev will launch an update to the Droid platform with the new Clone 5.
