Dec. 2, 2024

This paid piece is sponsored by Silencer Central.

To put the year into perspective at Silencer Central, consider this.

In March, the company reached a milestone: 100,000 suppressors shipped since the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives launched its  e-forms digital approval process in late 2021.

By the end of 2024, Silencer Central will have shipped an additional 100,000 suppressors to customers in 42 states.

“It’s been exponential growth,” chief operating officer Brandon May said. “I’m really proud of our team and how we’ve managed through the year.”

Here’s another powerful data point: In March, Silencer Central had a backlog of 70,000 suppressors awaiting federal approval before they could be shipped. There used to be an average wait of 290 days for the ATF to approve a customer’s application for a silencer.

Now, thanks to a new process, a customer’s background check is run the day an application is received. If the FBI clears it, the application is approved.

“We’re seeing approvals almost hourly now, so for the last few months, we’ve been experiencing record-breaking shipping – the most in company history,” May said.

But achieving that feat took foresight. When Silencer Central first saw approval times quickening, the company ramped up manufacturing as efficiently as possible. While other companies began running out of inventory, Silencer Central was able to keep up with demand.

“It wasn’t easy – we’ve had to run two shifts and hire more people and more manufacturers,” founder and CEO Brandon Maddox said. “But it’s worked out. And now also internally, we’re starting to trip over each other and need more space.”

It all puts Silencer Central in the unique position of being rare company to essentially hold a groundbreaking and a ribbon-cutting at the same time.

The company will welcome the community to learn more about its current operation and future vision at a Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting at 4:30 p.m. Dec. 4.

The same week, initial construction is starting on a 60,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution center adjacent to the headquarters at 4901 N. Fourth Ave. to support the company’s need for space.

“We think it’s a good chance to highlight the success of the company – and as this building goes up, it will be visible from the airport, so we think people might be wondering what it is,” Maddox said.

“We’re excited about it. It’s going to be fully automated, so from a compliance standpoint, we’re able to operate at a higher scale and worry less about human error.”

Calling it a “warehouse” also is a bit of an oversimplification. Reaching more than 40 feet, the building will include multiple levels, including a mezzanine with office space, 3D printing capabilities for prototyping products and an on-site gun range to test them out.

“This will allow us to more efficiently model our products,” Maddox said. “Right now, we’re sending everything off or driving somewhere to test it.”

Vertical construction will get underway soon, with the goal of opening the new building in September. That will open up about 20,000 square feet of warehouse space in the headquarters building that can be converted into office space.

“We’re going to bring state-of-the-art technology that’s first of its kind for South Dakota,” May said. “It will allow us to do upwards of 2,000 orders an hour to send out.”

Robotic technology also will allow Cerakote to be applied to the suppressors, a versatile material that’s abrasion, corrosion and chemical resistant.

“This supports better maintenance and stronger warranties and allows us to offer additional services,” May said. “We can offer to clean and coat suppressors for customers and then ship them back, so it’s a good way to expand our capabilities.”

Understanding what’s driving growth is about more than enjoying faster application approvals, he added. For Silencer Central, the business model itself is evolving too.

“We’ve diversified significantly in the last two years,” May explained. “We manufacture Banish suppressors, and we used to sell direct to consumer only, but now we’re also selling Banish through large distribution channels across the U.S.”

These partnerships include working with Guns.com, a relationship that launched in October, and with Sports South, other major retailers and e-commerce sites.

“We’re selling our software and distributorship as a service,” May said.

“So that is really contributing to our volume and our need to ramp up our distribution capability. We have to be ready to ship the same day. So when you go to these major e-commerce sites and buy a suppressor, each one will be fulfilled by Silencer Central and distributed in the 42 states where we operate.”

Combine that business opportunity with more education about shooting suppressed and strong marketing partnerships to align the Silencer Central brand with some of the biggest names in the industry, and it has added up to unprecedented demand.

“The biggest thing is continuing to bring the entrepreneurial mindset that Brandon Maddox brings,” May said. “We want to make decisions, turn and go. We have a mentality of ’75 percent and go’ and we’ll figure the rest out, and you want to keep that culture.”

Market share has followed. May estimates that Silencer Central now represents up to 35 percent of the suppressor market, compared with at most 10 percent two years ago.

That also allows Silencer Central increasingly to give back. This year, May estimates the company will be able to donate almost $4 million to conservation and Second Amendment efforts, including Ducks Unlimited, Friends of NRA, Mule Deer Foundation, Safari Club International, Dallas Safari Club, National Wild Turkey Federation, Pheasants Forever and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

The growth also is demanding additional hiring. Silencer Central is a 175-person team that will add at least 25 positions to support the new building and has other roles available now.

“Our biggest challenge is helping people understand what we do. We’re not just selling and making suppressors, but we have a technology-first mindset because we’re so highly involved in software-as-a-service, direct-to-consumer sales, marketing and events that require the professional and technical expertise in everything from purchasing to supply chain,” May said.

“We’ve expanded our searches nationwide to bring in a very high-end mindset, but we also see ourselves as a great fit for people who grew up here maybe in farming or ranching, they love hunting and are really smart and motivated and want to stay in South Dakota.”

Benefits are “extremely competitive,” he added. “Maddox has made awesome decisions for this organization. Our total rewards, including an outstanding bonus structure, has allowed us to attract and retain talent, which is required due to our growth. So we are doing the right things to attract and retain talent, and we need it because we’re growing so fast.”

For Maddox, the opportunity to build the team from this position of strength is a welcome one.

“For years, I would ask people to join our team and just believe in what could happen here,” he said. “And now it’s actually happening, so I think that just makes it an even more attractive place to work.”

To learn more about current opportunities at Silencer Central, click here.