There are about 900 farms in Pennsylvania that raise deer, elk and other game, but not many of them also regularly design and manufacture innovative new products like Thunder Valley Whitetails does.
Larry and Kelly Pittenger, founders of Thunder Valley Whitetails in Montoursville, started raising deer in 2000 with the goal of producing genetically superior deer. By 2002, their company was also selling livestock safety zone signs, deer crates, and the UltiMax Feeder, which the Pittengers designed and built out of necessity.
“We knew it would help save us time and money,” says Larry Pittenger. “I never really thought of going this far with any of our products. Our goal was to come up with a side business.”
But it’s a side business no longer. Williamsport/Lycoming Keystone Innovation Zone helped the Pittengers with design, primary market research and the development of an adapter for the UltiMax Feeder, which is now Thunder Valley’s primary source of business. Although Thunder Valley continues to raise deer, their feeders have gained popularity on a national level–and so the Pittengers have continued to develop new products.
Their latest, unveiled Monday, is a new, smaller deer feeder called the UniMax Feeder. It uses the same basic design as the larger UltiMax, but is small enough to mount to a tree or a fencepost.
“We’ve been growing every year,” Pittenger says. “We try to come out with some new product every year and keep growing into new markets every year.”
Source: Larry Pittenger, co-founder Thunder Valley Whitetails
Writer: John Davidson
