From the backwoods to the boardroom, success can be measured bythe satisfaction a customer has for a product, a hunting supplycompany executive told area business and industry leaders Thursdayduring the 16th annual Copiah-Lincoln Community College Businessand Industry Appreciation Luncheon at the Thames Center.

Jimmy Primos, chief operating officer for Primos Hunting Calls,gave a brief history of the hunting supply company while sharingthe ideals that helped boost it from a small operation in themid-1970s to becoming one of the world’s leaders in huntingcalls.

“We coupled our passion of hunting with building a successfulbusiness,” Primos said about the company, which has a productionplant in Lincoln County.

Will Primos, Jimmy’s cousin, started Primos Hunting Calls in1976 “as a kind of a hobby,” Jimmy Primos said, by producing turkeydiaphragm calls. Hunting was not as popular in the 1970s as todaybecause the wildlife population could not support a wide base ofhunters.

Turkey hunting, however, began to grow in the 1980s inconjunction with the growth in the population of the game fowl.Jimmy Primos was brought into the company in 1986 and the cousinsdecided to expand the business.

“One year we made $200,000 and spent $100,000 on advertising,”he said. “We were trying to grow, and it worked. Most years we grewby 25 to 30 percent.”

The company both expanded its product lines, creating huntingcalls for deer and other game, and continued to reach out to newmarkets and customers.

One method Primos used was the introduction in 1987 of thetelevision show Primos’ TRUTH about Hunting, which airs nationallyon The Outdoor Channel. The show has won numerous awards for itscamera work and video footage.

Today, the company has 136 employees and two plants.

A 105,000 square foot headquarters facility in Flora houses alloffices and the company’s warehousing, packaging and distributionoperations. A 12,000 square foot manufacturing facility outside ofBrookhaven is where the hunting calls are produced.

The company made $22 million in sales last year.

Primos credited Co-Lin with keeping the Brookhaven plantviable.

The community college has worked with the company to ensure thatits graduates are prepared for a job in the manufacturing industry,he said. The Brookhaven plant uses Computer Numerically Controlled,or CNC, software to produce its hunting calls.

“It is very sophisticated equipment and without it we could notmake the quality hunting supplies we do,” Primos said.

The college’s pre- and post-employment training services haveproven very beneficial to Primos Hunting Calls, he said.

“Without the opportunity to train and hire CNC employees, Primoswould not be able to keep a facility here,” Primos said. “Communitycolleges have to tell their stories. They have to let everyone knowwhat they do.”

The company’s commitments to its customers is also a factor inits success, he said.

Primos Hunting Calls ensures it has strong relations with itswholesalers because if the wholesalers are happy, that means theend customers – the hunters – are also happy with the products theyare receiving.

“Sometimes that means you do the unexpected,” Primos said.

He recounted one story where the company received bids from awholesaler to sell their hunting calls. The bid was so low companyexecutives questioned whether the wholesaler would make a profitand recommended he raise his sale price by 10 percent.

“He’s been a valued customer ever since,” Primos said.

Communications are also very important, he said. Customers thathave problems with a product do not want to wait weeks for aresponse. They want help immediately.

“We have a 24-hour policy,” Primos said. “Any communication wereceive, whether a telephone call, e-mail or some other way, isanswered within 24 hours.”

Thursday’s luncheon of approximately 400 business leaders andpublic officials was one of the most popular hosted by the college,said President Howell Garner.

“I think this was the largest we’ve had,” he said. “It seems togrow each year.”