U.S. Sword Maker Hopes to Put Europeans <i> en Garde</i>

Europeans long have held a monopoly on producing fencing equipment, but a U.S. company armed with a $62,500 loan from this southeastern Michigan city aims to wrest a North American slice of the action.

“Europeans have been holding the fencing world hostage. We aim to stop that,” said Charles S. McCrory, president of Heidelberg Fencing Equipment Inc.

Heidelberg plans to establish a plant in Pontiac to manufacture sabers, foils, epees and electronic scoring machines used in fencing competition, making it the first North American maker of fencing equipment.

The Pontiac Economic Development Corp. approved the loan in late November. It is part of a $228,740 financing package for the plant, which company officials say will employ 15 people making at least 90,000 pieces of fencing paraphernalia annually.

More than 9,000 active competitors in the U.S. Fencing Assn. and the more than 150 U.S. colleges with fencing teams and unassociated clubs help create an untapped North American market of 100,000 to 120,000 blades a year, McCrory said.