March 30, 2026

Hours after closing last week on the building next to his Sioux Falls headquarters, Silencer Central founder and CEO Brandon Maddox reflected on the irony of the deal.

His purchase — a vacant former Wells Fargo call center at 4811 N. Fourth Ave. — belonged to the lender that once denied him financing for his business.

“I had had my 401(k) with Wells when I left corporate America,” Maddox said, explaining that he approached the bank while in the early days of starting Silencer Central, which designs and manufacturers firearms suppressors.

His contact at Wells Fargo encouraged him to pursue a business loan instead of borrowing against his house — but he ultimately was turned down for the loan.

“I was kind of naive. I had no idea,” he said. “They said it was reputational risk. I do think it’s interesting they weren’t willing to finance me, and now we’re buying their biggest call center in town.”

That wasn’t the last time he’d be turned down by a major bank as multiple lenders were hesitant to finance a business in his industry, Maddox said. He since has done his lending with local community banks.

The newest addition to his portfolio is a 111,000-square-foot building next to Silencer Central’s headquarters that has been vacant the past several years.

Maddox plans to demolish it later this year and appreciates the opportunity the nearly 10-acre site presents.

“We’ve already got over 10 (acres), so this gets us closer to 20,” he said.

In the short term, it could offer more convenient parking for some of his employees. Long term, he envisions putting up a building that could focus on manufacturing.

“We’d like to recruit other firearms manufacturers to Sioux Falls,” he said. “Most of it is in Sturgis, so it would be nice to have a little firearms park here.”

That could include manufacturers out of state that Silencer Central already uses.

“We’re always open to different partnerships for bringing in manufacturing,” Maddox said. “We make all kinds of stuff — accessories, adapters, parts of suppressors — there’s a lot involved.”

Silencer Central’s current headquarters at 4901 N. Fourth Ave. is a former location for Cigna Home Delivery Pharmacy that was totally retrofitted and recently expanded with a new distribution center.