Your Story Made Here: Targamite

Your Story Made Here: Targamite

By Melissa Long - 21Alive

April 22, 2014 Updated Apr 22, 2014 at 5:46 PM EDT

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (21Alive) - Gary Kaufman was an attorney who ended up in a threatening situation after a case. He decided to learn to defend himself and became an expert marksman. But while his skill progressed….he found that the targets on which he practiced….did not. A self- avowed robotics fan, Kaufman set about fixing that.

Gary Kaufman says:" I did a little bit of research and found that yes, there was a market. So I built my own in my garage like everyone else does when they're an entrepreneur."

What he built was a moving target. The targabot….which moves side to side and up and down to present a more challenging target. He moved from California to Fort Wayne to work with Adaptive Microware, whom he calls the best electrical engineers in the country. He found something else in Indiana: real support for his venture.

Kaufman says: " In California, they are cheerleaders. Not to disparage my home state but they don't have a pot to 'you know what in', and they can't provide any other resources to you. ..other than encouragement. Here, there was introduction to sources around the state including CNC type mills, rep. prototyping, 3-D printing university personnel and eco-system, if you will, of support for an electromagnetics company which is what we are, that we couldn't find anywhere else in the country,

Targamite, Kaufman's company is producing the first robotic target system in the country.

Kaufman says: "Our market is pretty broad, everybody from law enforcement to military to commercial ranges to tactical trainers to the person who is a fairly advanced shooter who is tired of shooting at frying pans.."

The Targabot has a small footprint. It is highly portable, weighing only about 20 pounds. It is remote controlled. And you can program it to be either extremely predictable or highly unpredictable, an at less than 3000 dollars, it's affordable.

The first one hundred units are being made in Fort Wayne and the company is in the process of hiring sales and marketing personnel. Kaufman knows he has a unique product that will sell. He didn't invent the Targabot in a Fort Wayne garage…but his company and his very cool product will be made here!

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