Tippmann

Tippmann Sports LLC

Type	LLC
Industry	Paintball Pneumatic Sewing Machines Industrial
Founded	Fort Wayne, Indiana (Early 1980s)
Headquarters	Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States
Key people	Dennis Tippmann Jr.
Products	Alpha Black/Bravo One Model 98 98 Custom Custom Pro A-5 C-3 X-7 and X7 Phenom Triumph Series Flatline Barrel System Response Trigger System Tippmann TPX
Revenue	N/A USD (2005)
Operating income	N/A USD (2005)
Net income	N/A USD (2005)
Number of employees	120 (2005)
Website	www.tippmann.com

Tippmann is a manufacturer of paintball markers and paintball equipment, including military simulation (MilSim) kits. A related company, Tippmann Industrial Products manufactures manual and pneumatic heavy-duty sewing machines primarily used for leather, other leather-related equipment, and some industrial products. Originally a family owned business run from Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 2004 Dennis Tippmann Sr. sold a majority ownership stake to Summit Partners, a private equity firm. Tippmann designed the first automatic marker, the use of refillable air systems in place of 12 gram cartridges, the "Cyclone Feed" system, the "Flatline" barrel, and the Tippmann C-3, the first propane-powered marker.

The Tippmann family, headed by Dennis Tippmann Senior, originally manufactured collectible, half-scale replica machine guns. However, a change in gun laws led to entry into the paintball market in 1986; forming the Tippmann Pneumatics Incorporated company. The company attempted to make high-performance, durable and affordable products - with the company claiming to have built the first semi-automatic and full-automatic paintball markers in the world.

In June 2004, Tippmann announced that the company had completed a financial recapitalization with private equity and venture capital firm Summit Partners. Howard Kosick joined Tippmann as its president and CEO, with both Dennis Tippman Senior and Dennis Tippmann Junior remaining on the company’s Board of directors as consultants; the latter continuing with the management team in product development. Shortly afterward in 2005, the company announced a record year for increased sales of paint marker units.

The company has been credited with the development of several technologies, including the introduction of C3 with PEP Technology propane markers in 2005, and improved Anti-Chop technology in 2006 to combat paintball breakages inside the marker.

In 2010, Tippmann Sports acquired NXe, a manufacturer of soft goods for the paintball industry. The acquisition combined the industry’s leading paintball marker brand with the leading soft goods brand. A full line of paintball harnesses, protective gear, tank covers, apparel, bags, pods and other miscellaneous accessories were immediately integrated into Tippmann’s existing product offering.