INSIDE AIRSOFT
EVOLUTION AIRSOFT
ALTHOUGH WE ’ VE LARGELY BEEN CONFINED TO OUR HOME OFFICES DURING LOCKDOWN , THE FACT IS THAT AIRSOFT IS NOT ONLY ALIVE AND WELL BUT POSITIVELY THRIVING IN TERMS OF NEW PRODUCTS AND NEW INNOVATION ! THIS MONTH BILL TAKES LOOK AT EVOLUTION INTERNATIONAL AS WE GO “ INSIDE AIRSOFT ” ONCE AGAIN , TO LOOK AT A EUROPEAN COMPANY THAT ’ S TAKING ON THE ESTABLISHED MANUFACTURERS
OF THE FAR EAST AND SUCCEEDING IN THEIR OWN UNIQUE WAY … WITH A DASH OF ITALIAN FLAIR !
I
don ’ t know about you but knowing the people behind the brands in airsoft and finding out a little bit of what makes them tick is very important to me . Whilst I do not expect them to share their innermost secrets with me - and none of us should have that expectation to be honest – as , after all “ business is business ”, I do like a bit of the inside track !
I also like to know that what I spend my “ airsoft pocket money on ” is not only worth it in terms of the product itself , but also in relation to the passion , drive and ethical position of the company be-hind it . I was lucky enough to meet Sergio Castelluccia , from Evolution International , in person many moons ago at IWA and each year I attend that show I always make a beeline for their stand to see what airsoft loveliness they have on offer ! Sadly , as we all know , there is no “ IWA 2021 ” so I thought it was a great chance to highlight an airsoft company I have the greatest of respect for , a respect that has grown with the years .
But what is the history of Evolution International ? Who set it up , when and why ?
Evolution International S . r . l . is based in Vimodrone
( Milan ), Italy . In the HQ you ’ ll find the Commercial and Sales Department , the Marketing , Communication and Graphic Design Offices , Administra-tion , Tech Department , R & D and the Warehouse . That ’ s just the physical stuff but to me the real history of the company is far more interesting , as it all began with what I will call “ one of us ”!
Evolution International S . r . l . is the result of a passionate concept born in 1996 , the year in which Sergio Castelluccia , one of the two founders , made airsoft not just his passion but his way of life ! Sergio was part of a very competitive and well-known airsoft team , which played at very high lev-els around Italy and , given his technical skills with a background as a Licensed Gun Smith for real firearms , he began to repair airsoft rifles for his teammates , becoming known by various teams , who in turn came to trust him for repairs and upgrades . He told us :
“ At the time , it was not easy to find replacement parts and upgrades , so I decided to start manufacturing them , using them for my own businesses and selling them to stores .”
At the same time Sergio also created the first
“ SERGIO ’ S AMBITION , HOWEVER , WAS TO CREATE HIS OWN PRODUCTS , SO HE DECIDED TO GRADUALLY ABANDON DISTRIBUTION TO DEVOTE HIMSELF TO INNOVATION AND PRODUCTION , FOCUSING ON THOSE ASPECTS THAT , IN HIS OPINION , WERE NEGLECTED BY OTHER MANUFACTURERS . ”
36 MARCH 2021