WDP (company)
Encyclopedia
WDP, LTD, now doing business as Angel Paintball Sports, is a manufacturer and distributor of paintball
markers
and equipment located in England
. The company also owns and operates National Paintball Fields, a paintball playing site in Birmingham
. WDP is best-known for manufacturing the Angel
line of electropneumatic paintball marker
s.
Now In administration.
arena field constructed from corrugated plastic pipe and designed for a much faster game format.
The first product introduced by the company was the Mamba Remote Coil hose - a coiled high pressure air line for connecting high pressure air and CO2 gas systems to paintball markers remotely.
Development of the Angel
paintball marker began when engineer John Rice began working with the company in 1994. The marker would remain in development for a further three years before being publicly released. The Angel
, along with the Smart Parts
Shocker
released around the same time, introduced electronically controlled paintball markers to the industry and ushered in a new and unprecedented level of marker firing speed in paintball.
In 2007 WDP began using the trading name Angel Paintball Sports (APS) and internally restructured. During this restructuring, long-time sales manager Owen Ronayne departed from the company. Technician Frazer Colley has been promoted from within the company to become Technical and Team Sponsorship Manager and will be working more closely with US Master Tech Robert "PI" Moon to provide technical support and service. Matt Green, previously WDP's Head of Sales, is the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer at Angel head quarters. Bart Walkerdine joins Matt as President and Chief Operating Officer.
Paintball
Paintball is a sport in which players compete, in teams or individually, to eliminate opponents by tagging them with capsules containing water soluble dye and gelatin shell outside propelled from a device called a paintball marker . Paintballs have a non-toxic, biodegradable, water soluble...
markers
Paintball marker
A paintball marker, also known as a paintball gun, is the main piece of equipment in the sport of paintball. Markers use an expanding gas, such as carbon dioxide or compressed air, to propel paintballs through the barrel. Some paintball players refer to the piece of equipment as a "marker" rather...
and equipment located in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The company also owns and operates National Paintball Fields, a paintball playing site in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. WDP is best-known for manufacturing the Angel
Angel (paintball)
The Angel is an electropneumatic paintball marker manufactured by Angel Paintball Sports in 1997, alongside Smart Parts' original Shocker....
line of electropneumatic paintball marker
Electropneumatic paintball marker
An electropneumatic paintball marker is a paintball marker that utilizes a pneumatic solenoid to actuate the hammer and/or bolt's movement.-History and basic operation:...
s.
Now In administration.
History
WDP began operating in 1987 with the opening of the National Paintball Fields playing site. Once the field became successful, the company opened a shop and soon began running paintball tournaments in order to stimulate local demand for paintball equipment. Not content with woodland tournament play, WDP pioneered the "arena" paintball concept, introducing what would be called "Hyperball" - a speedballSpeedball
Speedball is one of the two distinct game variants in the sport of paintball, the other being woodsball. It is a general term for a game in which the playing field is composed of bunkers, of the same location and number on each side of the field, that provide an equal playing field for each team...
arena field constructed from corrugated plastic pipe and designed for a much faster game format.
The first product introduced by the company was the Mamba Remote Coil hose - a coiled high pressure air line for connecting high pressure air and CO2 gas systems to paintball markers remotely.
Development of the Angel
Angel (paintball)
The Angel is an electropneumatic paintball marker manufactured by Angel Paintball Sports in 1997, alongside Smart Parts' original Shocker....
paintball marker began when engineer John Rice began working with the company in 1994. The marker would remain in development for a further three years before being publicly released. The Angel
Angel (paintball)
The Angel is an electropneumatic paintball marker manufactured by Angel Paintball Sports in 1997, alongside Smart Parts' original Shocker....
, along with the Smart Parts
Smart Parts
Smart Parts was a paintball manufacturing company in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, which filed for liquidation on 28 July 2010.As of August 22, 2010 Smart Parts Assets and IP was Acquired by Kee Action Sports. - Products :...
Shocker
Shocker (paintball marker)
The Shocker is a series of electropneumatic paintball markers manufactured by Smart Parts. The original Shocker was built by PneuVentures and distributed by Smart Parts in the US in 1995. It is now discontinued, but was the first electropneumatic paintball marker on the market at the time...
released around the same time, introduced electronically controlled paintball markers to the industry and ushered in a new and unprecedented level of marker firing speed in paintball.
In 2007 WDP began using the trading name Angel Paintball Sports (APS) and internally restructured. During this restructuring, long-time sales manager Owen Ronayne departed from the company. Technician Frazer Colley has been promoted from within the company to become Technical and Team Sponsorship Manager and will be working more closely with US Master Tech Robert "PI" Moon to provide technical support and service. Matt Green, previously WDP's Head of Sales, is the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer at Angel head quarters. Bart Walkerdine joins Matt as President and Chief Operating Officer.