Winter Springs-based Tacklewebs.com Reels in 20 New Dealers – Will Diversify Product Line from New Office at UCF Business Incubator
Winter Springs, Fla. — Tacklewebs.com, a marine products manufacturer that has experienced exceptional growth in the industry, signed on 20 new dealers at the 2017 Big Rock Sports East trade show in Raleigh. At the same time, Captain Mike Ortego, CEO of the firm, established new corporate offices at the UCF Business Incubator in Winter Springs.
“The purchase orders are still coming in,” Ortego said. Once those are tallied, Tacklewebs will be supplying 115 dealers, he said. “They span across Florida, Texas, the Gulf Coast states, Georgia and the Carolinas, a few in California, and new ones from the show are in New York, New Jersey and Virginia.”
The line of unique flexible storage products with both bungee and specially formulated adhesive hook and loop for boats currently retail from $14.99 to $49.99, and they are manufactured and packaged in Orlando. A new patented pedestal seat Tackleweb with bracket system is $59.99.
Ortego himself who runs fishing charters out of Port Canaveral is the inventor of Tacklewebs.
Fishing tackle, gear and supplies flying around, blowing off his boat and polluting the waters, continued to be a problem during charter trips. “I just wanted to be able to bend down and grab something quick instead of using a traditional tackle box,” he explained.
Ortego made several versions of the flexible webbed material pockets himself to hang on the bars in his boat, and the personal Tacklewebs attracted so much interest at fishing tournaments – several professionals took note and wanted to buy them – he decided to turn the invention into a valid enterprise that soon outpaced the fishing charter business.
Bass Pro Shops picked up the products 3-1/2 years ago after seeing them at the annual ICAST international trade show in Orlando.
By year end 2015 Tacklewebs’ sales hit $120,000. Ortego estimates sales for 2016 are approximately 35 percent higher than last year, and with 20 new dealers and new products on the helm to be premiered at this summer’s ICAST, Ortego projects over a quarter million in sales by year end 2017.
Ortego says while he has learned a lot about merchandising on his own – including the discovery that Tacklewebs do much better in Bass Pro’s marine department than its fishing department – he now wants to learn from expert entrepreneurs how to scale his business.
As a client company of the University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program, Ortego looks forward to more growth by getting the guidance and support to implement Tacklewebs’ platform of diversifying its products, moving into other markets like the Agriculture and ATV industries, and creating a distributorship structure for the company.
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For more information, media contacts –
Captain Mike Ortego, Tacklewebs, Inc. 855-822-5539 Mike@tacklewebs.com
Rafael Caamano, Associate Director, UCF Business Incubation Program-Kissimmee, 407-408-4297 rafael.caamano@ucf.edu
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142 Lvershelco@aol.com
About the UCF Business Incubation Program:
The University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program is a community resource that provides early-stage companies with the tools, training and infrastructure to become financially stable, high growth / impact enterprises. Since 1999, this award-winning program has helped hundreds of local startup companies reach their potential faster by providing vital business development resources.
With seven facilities throughout the region, the UCF Business Incubation Program is an economic development partnership between the University of Central Florida, the Corridor, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia Counties, and the cities of Apopka, Kissimmee, Orlando and Winter Springs. Participating companies sustain more than 3,600 local jobs and have had a total impact of $1.51B on regional sales and $2.48B on regional economic output. During the last fiscal year, the program has returned $7.95 for every $1.00 invested in the program. For more information, visit www.incubator.ucf.edu.
