Allstar Tactical

As with many firearm manufacturers, Allstar Tactical faced the need for an affordable and efficient way to mark the gun parts they were building. An Epilog laser system was the solution for their growing business.

In business since 2008, Allstar Tactical began as a retail operation offering semi-automatic firearms and parts. When the company opened its doors they elected to source AR-15/M16/M4 and AK-47 parts from high-end suppliers, but after several months of assembling and testing firearms with other vendors’ parts, they decided to develop and manufacture their own brand of AR-15s.

Since we are a young company, most of our growth is in front of us and we believe our Epilog laser is a vital part of that.

Mike Centola

Mike Centola, owner of Allstar Tactical tells us, “After several months of assembling and testing firearms with other supplier’s parts, we decided to develop and manufacture our own brand of AR-15s. We utilize some parts directly from high-end manufacturers and designed our own line of parts, which many of these manufacturers make for us. We do our own design and prototype testing in-house. Our goal is to offer a full line of Allstar Tactical branded parts and complete firearms.”

Mike says the need for laser engraving equipment became apparent when the company entered the manufacturing arena. “When we decided to get in to the manufacturing end of the business and build our own brand, we either had to pay our suppliers to laser engrave our parts or do it in-house. The more we expanded our manufacturing business, the more we realized how cost-effective it would be to do our own lasering,” Mike said.

Beginning the laser research process was a relatively easy task for Allstar Tactical. “We didn’t really know much about lasers, but first and foremost we knew we wanted a machine that was built to last. It had to be easy to use and accommodate the firearm parts we wanted to engrave. Simplicity and repeatability were definitely important as well.”

Mike started his search online. “We researched several manufacturers on the Internet,” Mike said. “We visited Epilog’s site and requested a demonstration – the distributor in our area was fantastic and particularly helpful in answering many of our questions.”

Although he initially looked at several laser manufacturers, including foreign-made systems, he quickly narrowed it down to Epilog and another US-built manufacturer. “And really even then the choice wasn’t difficult. Epilog had better pricing for our applications, is simple to use, has a stellar reputation and is used by some of the premier firearm manufacturers out there,” Mike said.

Working with a variety of materials, including anodized and bare aluminum, anodized hard chrome, titanium nitride steel, glass, and certain plastics, Allstar Tactical utilizes their Epilog system for a variety of purposes. “Primarily we use our Epilog for serialization, branding and customization of our products,” Mike said. “We also have designed and laser engraved our own pint glasses and some other fun projects. Having our own graphic design team really allows us to experiment with the laser engraver to find new applications.”

Mike attributes the success of his business to hard work and selecting the right tools to get the job done. “Since we are a young company, most of our growth is in front of us and we believe our Epilog laser is a vital part of that.”