International Briefs from Tackle Trade World - a growing army of American carp anglers is now able to get its hands on British-made carp rods through Japanese giant Daiwa. Tom Komatsu, president of Daiwa USA, told TTW: "We are bringing in four ranges of carp rods manufactured in Scotland to the USA. Carp fishing is not huge here but it has a growing following, and the UK is seen as the leader in carp fishing. So to be able to distribute British-made rods into the American market is very pleasing."

Daiwa's Longbow, Theory, Mission X and Maddragon rods are now available - along with the Windcast Z and the Tournament Basia reels... AMERICAN fly rod and reel brand Ross has unveiled its new logo, which it is implementing to halt confusion among dealers.

The company was purchased by 3M last year. Jeff Wieringa of 3M told TTW: "Under its previous ownership Ross ran two logos - its traditional Ross logo and Ross Worldwide.

This caused confusion among dealers - who could not differentiate between the two. Some thought that Ross signified it was made in the US. And some believed that Ross Worldwide was imported product. To us it makes sense to have one logo for Ross - to take the brand into a new era"... JAPANESE hook manufacturer and brand Hayabusa is looking to launch a range of bass hooks, jigs and accessories into the US. Hayabusa has operated in the US market for two decades with sabiki rigs. Hayabusa says they will build on that and the extensive line of bass products developed for the Japanese market for their 2012 US launch....Zebco, part of the W C Bradley Group, is actively on the acquisition hunt - Europe.

Zebco USA recently acquired Zebco Sports Europe and is now looking to strengthen its grip in the area. Zebco boss Jeff Pontius told us: "We are essentially a new player in the European market, and we are open to buy here. We have made no secret of this. We are actively searching for companies to buy - especially carp and match-related companies."

W C Bradley acquired Zebco in 2001. More recently the firm has acquired the Van Staal and William Joseph brands. Jeff continued: "We want to grow our presence not only in Europe, but the world over. However, Europe is our primary concern." TTW believes that the Zebco portfolio currently turns over around $150 million, ranking it fifth in size, behind Pure Fishing, Rapala, Shimano and Daiwa in global standings.