VINTON–CW Tactical held their Grand Opening in Vinton on October 9 with a ribbon-cutting organized by the Vinton Area Chamber of Commerce and the Town of Vinton.
CW Tactical builds and sells tactical gear throughout the country. They carry products for military, law enforcement, preppers, and those interested in personal safety, including tactical gear, rifle and pistol bags, knives, and their exclusive ballistic armor.
Their inventory includes products made by CW, Rothco, Voodoo Tactical, Columbia River Knives, Kershaw, and other manufacturers. They carry long-term foods made by Thrive and Mountain House.
They sell to police departments, the military, and civilians—in their Vinton store, online, and at gun and police shows. The company is constantly trying to develop new products to remain competitive. They are currently working on a sticky coating for Kevlar products which entraps bullets.
Bob Carpentieri and Norvell West are the owners. Carpentieri is well-known to many in the region for his work with the Roanoke City Police Department and the Virginia State Police. He came to Virginia from Buffalo, New York, for a job in law enforcement which lasted over 32 years. He retired in March 2015 from the State Police as a Public Information Sergeant based in Salem. During his career he was involved with disseminating information about the Virginia Tech shootings and the 2004 crash of a Hendrick Motorsports plane carry family, friends, and employees of the NASCAR team.
West is a Roanoke native and retired Army Captain. He spent over 12 years in the United States Army and returned to join his father’s family-owned construction business. He has an engineering degree from the University of Michigan.
As for why CW Tactical chose Vinton for its new business, the owners said that Chief Ben Cook and Senator John Edwards were instrumental in their decision.
“I have known Bob Carpentieri for many years while he was with the Virginia State Police,” said Cook. “After he retired, he and Norvell West began full time with the business and we have met on many occasions to discuss their products, specifically body armor. In fact, we have purchased two ballistic vests from them and are pleased with the quality, comfort, and weight of their product.”
According to Cook, “They were looking for a place to move into so they could conduct retail transactions of their products and possibly move their production operation as well. I suggested Vinton and made some phone calls to try and locate an available business location. They found the location on Washington Avenue and got things going to begin their business. I am happy for them and for the town to have a retail business establish themselves in the town.”
“Crowdfunding” legislation introduced by Senator John Edwards in the General Assembly enabled CW Tactical to attract small investors for their business. His bill helps entrepreneurs to secure capital using the Internet.
“My crowdfunding proposal allows in-state-only solicitation among a larger number of small Virginia investors, thereby giving Virginia businesses more options to fund and to put their creative ideas to work,” said Edwards. “Senate Bill 763 authorizes the State Corporation Commission to establish rules for soliciting unregistered securities on the Internet through a funding portal for small Virginia investors. Small, often start-up, companies could use the portal to solicit funding of up to $2 million from Virginia-only investors, with each investor providing no more than $10,000 per offer. This tool avoids the high cost of traditional investment offerings requiring expensive federal registration of financing solicitations. The bill drew strong bipartisan support, and a companion bill sponsored by Senator Frank Wagner was merged into mine. The combined bill was reported out of committee and passed the Senate and the rest of the General Assembly without opposition.”
Delegate Scott Taylor sponsored the bill in the House saying, “The greatest challenge that startups with good ideas face is finding the capital to grow. Crowdfunding lets entrepreneurs make their case to small investors and get their ideas off the ground.”
CW Tactical is located on Washington Avenue near Valley Hall Bingo and Jerry’s Restaurant. Their business hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 10-7:30 Thursday and Friday, and 10-4 on Saturday.
More information is available on their Facebook page at CW Security Solutions.
