In honor of 25 years in business, Henry Repeating Arms CEO & Founder Anthony Imperato gave an exclusive interview that’s packed with personal insight into the past, present, and future of America’s leading lever action manufacturer.

From reminiscing on the humble beginnings of a small business to a phone call from a U.S. President, hear it straight from the man who started it all and still captains the ship to this day.

When you started Henry, what was your vision?

I do specifically recall asking myself the question, “What do I want Henry to be? How can I define the company I wanted to create and sum it up in just a few words?” I decided that the answer was that I wanted Henry to be the best long gun company in the firearms business. Period. At that time, cities were suing manufacturers that made handguns, and getting into the handgun business just wasn’t a wise business option. In short, being the best meant manufacturing a quality product that provided value to the consumer and is backed by the best customer service in the industry. If we could deliver on those points, it would be a win-win. From there, I created our first corporate motto, ‘Made in America and Priced Right.’

Tell me about the financial beginnings of the company.

Typically, a small, privately owned business has limited capital, which was no exception in our case. So we got started with a $140,000 home equity loan that I took out against my house. At that point, success was the only option.

Why did you choose Brooklyn, New York, as the company’s founding location?

To get a business off the ground and ultimately survive, I knew I was in for long days, seven days a week, and I wanted to be as close to my house as possible to accommodate that. I didn’t want a long commute and wanted to see my kids in the little spare time I had.

What were the unique ingredients that helped you build Henry into the company it is today?

We have always been all about Made in America, even before it became fashionable. Also, we were obsessed with customer service from the get-go. Not only did we set the bar in our industry, but I could confidently say that our level of customer service can stand on top in any industry. Our advertising and marketing strategy was a complete departure from what was the norm 25 years ago. We decided to focus on the consumer and drive them to our retailers. We advertised in non-traditional places, such as the Travel Channel, RFD, even CNN, and MSNBC at one time because they were lumped in a news network buy. Can you imagine seeing our commercial on CNN or MSNBC today? I wanted to show that what we do is as American as apple pie, and we’re not going to hide in shame. As you may recall, we also ran infomercials for many years, which is quite unique for a gun company.

Yes, I recall your infomercials. Certainly a departure from the norm in firearms industry marketing. Where did you come up with this idea?

I couldn’t sleep one night, and I went down into the basement to watch television. So here it is, at 3 am in the middle of the night, and I find myself watching a colon cleanser infomercial. A lightbulb went off, and I told myself if they could sell colon cleansers, we could sell our American-made rifles.

You also mentioned being obsessed with customer service, for which Henry is well-known. How did that develop, and how do you sustain it?

The brand has been very personal and hands-on for me since day 1. I felt that if someone was going to spend their hard-earned money on a Henry, we need to make certain that they are satisfied no matter what it takes. Delivering anything less than complete satisfaction would make me feel embarrassed. Our entire staff is empowered to do whatever is needed, and I don’t play Monday morning quarterback. We are happy when our consumers are happy.

You and your family had 100+ years of history in the gun business in the New York/New Jersey area, so how did you end up with a factory in Rice Lake, Wisconsin?

In the late 1990s, we were purchasing some critical parts from a company named Wright Products based in Rice Lake. They were a leading window, door, and automotive parts manufacturer. After a few years, I received a call that the parent company was shutting down five factories in the USA, including the Rice Lake plant, and that they were going to import parts from China to compete in price with their competitors. I told them that there was no way we could use parts from China in our rifles and that finding a new supplier in such a short amount of time would be next to impossible. In the end, they offered me the building and the equipment used to make our parts, and I made that purchase in November of 2006, although it was a ton of money for me at the time. I kept 17 people who knew about our parts production, including Andy Wickstrom, who became our Vice President and General Manager and ultimately the company President. Today we have close to 400 people working there.

Read the entire interview with Anthony Imperato on henryusa.com.