A KIWI LEGACY
Stepping away from your desk to play a few games of darts during work hours could lead to some awkward questions from the boss.
Not that Peter McCormick has to worry about that.
He runs his own business. And that business is all about darts.
McCormick was just six months old when his father, John McCormick, moved the family from Auckland to Katikati in 1970 and set up Puma Darts.
John was working as an accountant for a company making nails when he saw an opportunity to get into making dartboards. He quickly expanded the business to include manufacturing darts.
McCormick said his father had a strong entrepreneurial streak and was also an innovator. From his factory in Katikati, John McCormick changed the sport of darts.
In 1992, he designed the first bladed, staple-free dartboard. The dartboard – dubbed the Bandit – is regarded as the industry standard with its design reducing dart bounce outs.
The business itself has shifted sites a few times but stayed in Katikati.
It’s currently located behind the town’s RSA club. Horses occupy the paddock next to it. The factory’s small town location belies the fact the company and its 21 staff are one of the top producers of high-end darts in the world, exporting to 74 countries.
‘‘I’m a passionate manufacturer and passionate about employing New Zealanders,’’ McCormick says.
‘‘We get seen as being different and buyers will see you because you come from New Zealand.’’
Each day, the factory produces 400 to 500 high-end tungsten darts.
McCormick was asked by his dad to join the business in 1996 and, following John’s death in 2003, became the managing director. Peter’s sister, Julie Carlson, works as the company’s marketing director.
The company is still called Puma Darts but trades as Shot Darts.
A few years back, McCormick made the call to stop manufacturing dartboards in New Zealand due to costs. The dartboards are now made in China but Shot Darts still control the research and development side.
Today, the Katikati factory is focused on making dart barrels.
The barrels of tungsten are first threaded, cut to length, and weighed to get the balance point correct. The barrels are then machined. Depending on the complexity of the design, the barrels can be machined up to three or four times. If the barrel is coloured, it is machined again. Finally, the barrel goes through a laser engraving and has its point attached.
Five years ago, Shot Darts scored a major coup, winning the contract to manufacture and distribute Michael van Gerwen darts in the southern hemisphere and the United States.
Shot Darts’ latest range of darts is inspired by Viking culture.
One dart, named the Berserker, has a coloured barrel modelled on dry blood on leather.
On one of McCormick’s office wall, photographs of Viking shields and armoury give an insight into how the intricate barrels were imagined.
The Viking series, like many of Shot Darts’ range, are far removed from the uniform brass barrel designs many people learnt to play with.
‘‘Darts has grown up as a sport,’’ McCormick says.
‘‘Players want design flair, that different look, and people love to show their darts off. You go to any darts hall and the first thing they do is start looking at each other’s darts.’’
McCormick is especially proud of the dart they designed for top Kiwi player Cody Harris. The dart is engraved with five marks – one for each of Harris’ children.
A sense of craftsmanship is also reflected in Shot Darts’ flights. Designer Gavin Manson draws the designs by hand using a clutch pencil rather than on a computer.
A single flight design can involve hours of research to ensure the final concept is true to its inspiration.
‘‘We want dart players to embody the whole warrior spirit,’’ Manson says.
‘‘With our designs, the flights and barrels all have a meaning.’’