MTI Life Jackets Moves Headquarters and Goes 3PL for Fulfillment

MTI turns challenge into opportunity to re-invente their business

Plymouth, MA – June 30, 2017

On March 31st this year at the peak of the paddlesports shipping season, MTI Adventurewear found out that it had only 60 days to move their business. Finding new headquarters for MTI and a home for a warehouse full of life jackets was not a small task. But they successfully made the move on June 1st to new offices at Cordage Park in Plymouth in a 100 year old restored mill building near the waterfront, and out-sourced their shipping operation to a 3PL in NJ. All without losing a single day of business. “It wasn’t easy, but sometimes getting pushed off a cliff forces you to make changes that you wouldn’t otherwise have made” explained Lili Colby, Chief PFDiva and co-owner of MTI. “It gives you an opportunity to re-invent your business while you are free-falling.” With advice and encouragement from industry friends, MTI made the decision to outsource their warehouse and distribution operation to Tigers in NJ. “After 25 years of doing our own shipping, it was not an easy choice. Without being pushed we wouldn’t have done it.” MTI ended up keeping all full-time employees making the move to 3PL and Cordage Park. In fact, they ended up adding new two new in-house sales/customer service reps to the company, Kandyce Sampson and Jim Travers. Both bring solid paddlesports experience to MTI. Kandyce worked for EMS for 9 years and Jim was with Mad River Canoe and Extrasport previously. “Gordon and I are excited about being able to shift our focus on product development, sales, branding and marketing in the future. Getting pushed off the cliff forced us to change and look for the opportunity to make our business stronger for the future.” MTI will be hedging their bets by attending all three key trade shows this summer: Outdoor Retailer, Paddlesports Retailer, and Surf Expo.

Founded over 25 years ago outside Boston, MTI specializes in USCG approved life jackets for human powered boating. Canoe, Kayak, Raft, Sail or SUP – if it’s powered by the paddle or wind, MTI makes a life vest of it. MTI life jackets can be found online and at leading retail locations across the United States. Learn more at www.mtiadventurewear.com