KWA... PAST, PRESENT... AND FUTURE!

“SHOW SEASON 2024” MAY NOW BE BEHIND US, BUT THE REST OF THE YEAR OF LOOKING MIGHTY FINE WHEN IT COMES TO AIRSOFT STORIES AND TALES OF THE INDUSTRY TO TELL! ATTENDING SHOWS IS A VITAL PART OF WHAT WE DO IN ORDER TO GET TO KNOW THOSE WITHIN THE INDUSTRY EVEN BETTER AS DAN NOW TELLS US AS HE RECOUNTS A MEETING WITH DEBBIE AT KWA, SOMEONE WITH SOME TRUE HISTORICAL “AIRSOFT FAMILY” CONNECTIONS AND A DEFINITE POSITIVE EYE TO THE FUTURE OF OUR BELOVED GAME!

During SHOT 24’ I had the good fortune to finally meet with Debbie Hu, General Manager of KWA USA in person. After KWA’s sales director, Tony Lin made the first round of introductions, I was honestly a bit surprised to learn she had heard of me and my ventures with building custom KWA’s!

Unexpected as this meeting was, the Airsoft Action crew sensed a good opportunity to do an interview to expand on our SHOT coverage and deeper general understanding of our industry and we made arrangements for me return to the KWA booth the following day.

After priming myself with a fresh cup of coffee and with our cameraman Lil’ Stu in tow, we arrived at 11:00 sharp at Booth #72953 the next morning to discuss the past, present and future of KWA, and learn more about Debbie and her role at one of airsoft’s major manufacturers. I am always interested in everyone’s airsoft origin story, so after we found a space to stand next to the new ATP chassis kits soon to be released, I asked Debbie how she got started in the industry. As she related:

Debbie: I started to learn about the US Airsoft Industry starting around 2015, after I graduated from my graduate school here. Then I also studied in Japan and elsewhere, trying to make sure I gained all the skill sets I needed before I came back here to take over the business. I just wanted to prepare myself better before I got all the way in. If we had to count from when I was in school in 2015… I have been living in the US for 8 – 9 years.

Dan: What would you say drew or attracted you to the Airsoft industry?

Debbie: So, I am actually born into the industry. My parents are the founders of KWA. As you guys know, KWA in Asia manufactures for so many other different brands. So I was kind of born in the industry. I studied business and I really wanted to help our family make it bigger. Before I started with the company, we hired people to help it expand, but it’s never going to be the same unless you learn things, see things, and do things yourself.

Dan: I take it KWA has pretty much always been a family run operation then?

Debbie: Always, actually!

Dan: Here’s a question that many have speculated about over the years; what is KWA’s relation to KSC Japan?

Debbie: Yes, so KSC has a very long history there. As you guys know, airsoft started in Japan. KWA is one of the companies that KSC worked with in the very beginning. We also worked with WA (there is a WA Japan company too) so that gradually we started to have a closer relationship with KSC to sell our guns in Japan. There was a lot of R&D and collaboration together. People call them our sister company, but it is actually two separate companies that have a close relationship with one another.

Dan: What would you say is KWA’s biggest market? Is it the overseas side in Asia, Europe, or the US?

Debbie: I think they are equally important to us. As we know, the US can own real guns, but they also like to play airsoft. It’s growing. Not just us, but also everyone is doing so many things to grow the industry here in the United States. In Asia, we cannot own real guns, not easily, at least, so people have reliance on airsoft. But it’s growing there and it is equally important.

Dan: Would you say there is a market divide, or one that has the ‘biggest buyers’ of certain products?

Debbie: I would say it depends on the model. Like GBB -- Gas Blowback is bigger and more popular in Asia. Here in the US it’s M4’s and AEG’s.

Dan: Are there any new and exciting plans KWA has coming up on the horizon?

Debbie: Actually we do! I don’t know if everyone knows, but KWA likes to do things that are ‘different’. With AEG’s everyone has a Tokyo Marui style AEG with a Version 2 but in 2017 KWA came out with the AEG 2.5, which we call the “AEG variable” now. Even before that, in 2013 - 2014 we had the recoil AEG’s too. So we always wanted to do things that were different. Coming up we have something very exciting coming out; an all-new system very different from what you see here… perhaps a GBB/AEG mix. Hopefully this will be out at SHOT 2025.

Dan: By all accounts your KWA KO (KWA Originals) line has been quite successful. Do you foresee expanding on that product line in the future?

Debbie: Yes. So at KWA we are always looking at ways to make things better. What can we do better? We don’t just look at what other people have and go “let’s make the same thing.” Our KO line was originally from the idea that people say: ‘oh, I have a 13 year old son and this rifle is just too heavy.’ So we came out with the KO series that is lighter. We made the grip smaller so young kids can handle it and it’s easier for them to use. But then we started learning more from the indoor side, the competition guys, and we came up with a cool new plan to try and make the KO line even more competition-friendly and support those guys.

Dan: I can see how some might perceive KWA sort of has two emphases; you have the strong force-onforce component on one side, then the competition side on the other. Do you think there’s any kind of ‘meet in the middle’ so to speak?

Debbie: Yes, I can see how people read it as our GBB side is only for Force-on-Force training. That is always one of our focuses. We have converted a lot of police and military units into using airsoft. It’s cost effective, it’s non-lethal, and it improves training. I can also see why people associate the KO line with indoor competition too. This year we have come out with the M10 and Q10, which are full metal and have either AEG variable or recoil with the 9.5” outer barrel. These also have the last-round-cutoff function. Those are something we call “MilSpeed” as we wanted it to be something in between. Not speedsoft and not strictly for training, but something in between. We also listen to our partners in the UK and US and they give us a lot of feedback about what they need too.

Dan: As a tech who primarily works on KWA’s (and I think I already know the answer here) what would you say is one of the biggest misconceptions about KWA?

Debbie: (laughs) Wow! Let me see where I can start…

Dan: Ah, so there is a list!

Debbie: (laughs) There is a lot! So I don’t know why, I don’t even need to pretend I don’t even know, but people say we’re proprietary in so many things, right? Sometimes I go talk to my developer and my engineer and I go “Why? Did you make something that’s different than the other brands?” and they go “Listen Debbie, it’s just because we’re different.” I have heard about the hop up, I’ve heard about springs, I have heard so many things. So that’s something we take feedback on all of the time. We have also been working with our partner on making videos to say it’s not true. Yes, there are some parts that are true, but not all of them.

Dan: (laughs) I feel your pain. It’s been at least a 13 – 14 year uphill battle that I’ve been fighting, trying to educate people on. I’m not sure where it’s stemming from exactly? Do you have any ideas?

Debbie: I don’t know either, actually. Some things get written so long ago… but things change, we change, and people tend to forget that things are always changing. So what is written out there doesn’t always get updated. But we as KWA need to do better and help people understand this.

Dan: I’ve always thought KWA USA had a really good marketing presence here in the US. Compared to some of the other companies out there who don’t really reach what I would call the ‘psyche’ of the US. But arguably, it might work well for them in the Asian markets. KWA seems to have a different strategy in that regard.

Debbie: Right, and I think that’s why we have our own branch here in the US. Compared to other companies, we don’t just have a distributor here. We are actually here in the US ourselves. I want our marketing to make sure they do their job and to communicate that. That’s a big part of our presence in the US.

Dan: Would you be able to give our readers some idea of how KWA USA operates with respect to KWA Taiwan? Are the two entities closely tied to each other or is there some autonomy? Are new products co-developed by the US and Taiwan branch, or is this handled independently?

Debbie: KWA USA mainly focuses on the market in the US, Canada and Latin America, and we are completely independent from KWA Taiwan. New products are definitely co-developed. We have meetings all the time on the products, systems and direction. All of the product engineering and manufacturing parts are reliant on KWA Taiwan. KWA USA is doing more of the marketing and selling part.

Dan: As General Manager of KWA USA, what would you say are some of the biggest challenges you face?

Debbie: I am concerned about the quality of the overall airsoft experience that our industry provides. I want the first-time airsoft user, or any police officer that trains with airsoft for the first time to all have a good experience. This way, the chances of them staying as a customer will be higher, and hence we can grow as an industry.

Dan: What is the most enjoyable aspect of being General Manager of KWA USA?

Debbie: I guess I would say that it is I get to create a product from scratch! It is A LOT of work, but once we see the products in the market, and loved by so many players, all the work is worth it!

Amidst the increasing clatter of GBB’s being testfired amongst a swelling afternoon crowd, and with consideration towards other meetings to attend, I decided to close out the interview with a final question: “Out of everything KWA has produced - do you have a favorite model?”

Debbie visibly beams as her eyes wander the racks adorned with KWA’s and a lengthy pause fills the air. “You know… all of these are my babies. There’s old babies and new babies. There’s babies that were here before I joined the company, but they’re still classic. Yeah… it’s really hard to pick a new favorite though! It’s so hard, I wish I could!”

Many thanks go out to Debbie Hu for her generous time, and you can check out KWA’s complete product lineup over on their website here: https://store. kwausa.com AA