The Nevada County picayune., 1920-05-20
PRESCOTT MAN
 VISITS IN EAST
Mir. Dan Pittman of Prescott Hardware Co.,, Tells of
 Visit to New Haven

hardware field was the convention atI New Haven, Conn, of presidents and secretaries of the Winchester clubs of the United States from which Dan Pitt man, the local hardware dealer, whose store Las become the Winchester store for this territory, has just returned.
 The session brought together some three score of the leading hardware country representing the Winchester clubs that are now organized. These clubs complise Winchester Stockhold- ing agents, the chosen representatives Of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in their districts to handle the new products which this world ia nous gun and ammunition organiza- tion is now to manufacture
 Among those who attended this gath ering were several past and present of ficlals of state hardware dealers asso- citations and Charles T. Woodward of
 
 National Retail Hardware Dealers As sociation.
 The convention was designed to en- able the club officials to see for them selves the company's vast plant and equipment. its physical resources, and tc see its products in the making and learn about the factors back of the quality and service which are the dom inant features of Winchester products.
 The dealers were given splendid opportunity to see the plant in opera tion, half day being devoted to a tour of the gun and ammunition shops and a half day to seeing the new pro- ducts shops. The completeness of me chanical equipment. the careful plan ming and the scientific exaetness of manufacture made great impressions on tfi dealers.
 But probably the greatest impression made on all was the rigid system of inspection maintained over all Win chester products. A small army of workers is employed to do this inspec- tion work alone and all sorts of de- vices and severe tests are made in every stage of manufacture from raw material to the finished product. It was evident that anything that could survive such system of inspection must be an article that could explain the reason for the Winchester name being another word for quality.
 Speaking of the Winchester plant MT. Pittman gave figures that convey some idea of it's vastness. The main plant covers S1 acres of land, has 3250 900 square feet of floor space, employs 12,000 people and is steadily growing.
 Vice President Henry Brewer at the banquet which closed the convention pointed out that>the basis of Winches- ter success lay in the careful and cor rect planning done months in advance. The new products were not selected at random but after a careful study of the equipment of the company and the accumulated manufacturing eXper- fence it had available so that the or ganiza ton found itself already skilled in nearly all the manufacture of com ponents required by the new products and therefore was not facing the ne cessity of learning to manufacture something new to if.
 The convention was unique in many ways. One of these was that it was primarily q convention of work. Every hour of the day had been carefully planned. The sessions were held large ly in classes to permit the dealers to sibe. After the inspection of the plant class room work was conducted on the new products to give the dealers a de- tailed knowledge of the manufacture of them and the distinctive features of their superiority. They were thus able to get an intimate acquaintance with the goods and the reasons for the special features of their design and manufacture
 Much of the final day was devoted toI a study of Winchester dealer service work The practical helps which the company is ready to furnish to aid dealers to increase their business and develop sales were explained and care fully gone over. The dealer service in sales and merchandising work, window display, advertising, store equipment and arrangement retail salesmen in- struction, sampling and accounting and office system were made special study of.