As some of you already know, there is a bit of a situation with electric matches brewing. Copied below is a bulletin I recently sent to our dealers.
Mike Dennett Cesaroni Technology Incorporated
****************************** Electric matches - a temporary famine?
Recently Daveyfire Inc. of California announced they were closing their doors. They are starting up business under another name, however will no longer be supplying igniters to the pyrotechnic industry, period, instead focusing primarily on the blasting industry. They and the foreign supplier of the fuseheads used to make their igniters made the decision to withdraw from the US pyrotechnics industry primarily due to lawsuits from firework show mishaps, and other hassles. Considering the total dollar value of the few hundred thousand electric matches that might be used annually for fireworks initiation, it is not hard to understand why the liability exposure and insurance grief from this small stream of business (compared to the aerospace and automotive industries) is not worth it.
When we first introduced our motors to the HPR market, we supplied Daveyfire matches with them as igniters. Later, we switched to Oxral e-matches for all motors larger than G [a cost and ready availability decision], and supplied the Daveyfires only with the G size reloads.
It turns out that Daveyfire was the North American importer for the company making the Oxrals as well. So when Daveyfire made its announcement, the US company that resells the Oxrals made inquiries directly with the overseas manufacturer - to no avail. I was told by them that the manufacturer had also made the same decision to withdraw from the US pyrotechnics market. So they are now scrambling for an alternate supplier, as they are dependent on electric matches for their business. I cannot speak for them, but if they are able to secure a suitable alternate supplier, those e-matches may be available to the HPR industry since the company's mainstream business is the US pyrotechnics industry anyway - in other words, the HPR market hardly seems to represent additional exposure. Let's hope they see it that way when the time comes.
What this means right now to the rocket industry is that supplies of Daveyfire and Oxral matches are drying up - fast. Alternatives are needed.
After some serious scrambling, I received good news in my e-mail yesterday morning from a foreign supplier willing to supply equivalent igniters to include with our motors. However, we are only able to purchase these matches on the condition that they are never resold, only included one-for-one with our products. They too have the same concerns. Therefore, unfortunately, they are not a potential supplier of matches for use as aftermarket igniters for motors and recovery systems. We will honor our agreement with them not to resell e-matches.
There are other manufacturers of e-matches out there, but we have not dealt with them so far so cannot comment on the products. One fireworks supplier in Canada imports electric matches from China, however reports are they are highly sensitive. We are investigating; samples are on their way.
I wrote this message simply to alert those who are wondering what is going on with the brand names with which some of you are familiar. We were pretty worried about the news, until finding what appears to be a viable alternate source for our motors at least.
However, there may be a scramble for electric matches suitable for recovery system use. It might behoove avionics manufacturers to design their products so that they are able to supply high enough output currents for less sensitive commercial or home-brew igniters. I guess it all depends on what sources people are able to locate, and how fast they are able to do so. I hope there is good news on the horizon. If so, please let us know! We'll keep looking as well, even though our immediate problem appears to be solved.
So to summarize, we have located a reliable source of quality igniters for our motors and expect to receive our first shipment in about a month. However, we will not be reselling igniters under any condition, either to our dealers or individuals. We are, unfortunately, forced to protect our long-term supply by honoring the conditions of sale.
We have enough old stock in house to supply our production needs until the new articles arrive.
Mike Dennett Manager, Propulsion Systems Cesaroni Technology Incorporated