Nov. 4, 2025

This piece is sponsored by Silencer Central.

The firearms industry is about to change in a big way come January — and Sioux Falls-based Silencer Central has the pieces in place to meet the moment.

The federal government will be eliminating a $200 “tax stamp” as of Jan. 1, 2026, paving the way for even more people to experience the benefits of hunting and shooting sports using a silencer.

Silencer Central already is covering the $200 cost for customers looking to beat what’s expected to be a rush of activity early next year. In the meantime, the company is ramping up operations in its new 70,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution center adjacent to the headquarters at 4901 N. Fourth Ave.

Inside is a highly sophisticated, automated operation that will greatly improve the company’s efficiency.

“Although we’re very meticulous now, our processes are manual,” said Maggie Jelen, vice president of operations. “We generate lists, find a customer’s specific serial number in our warehouse and then pick that product and prepare to ship.”

Now, a new piece of equipment that essentially acts as a robotic vending machine will handle the more labor-intensive part of that process. It’s 14 feet wide, 40 feet tall and 210 feet long.

“We will induct products into that, and through robotics and programs we run every day, it will pick the exact items we need to ship that day and present them to our shippers,so they don’t have to do manual picking,” Jelen said. “It’s highly automated technology, and now we have laser precision in our ability to locate every item.”

Think of it like going from using an old-fashioned library card catalog to find books to having a machine that does it for you, said Brandon Maddox, founder and CEO.

“Each of our items is uniquely serialized and has to be for regulatory compliance, but before this, you had to manually pick each one,” he said.

While the warehouse currently is fuller than usual because of approval delays related to the government shutdown, most people typically are approved to purchase a silencer in a day or two.

“That means we’re shipping immediately,” Maddox said. “The reality is we’re now competing with an Amazon experience, where previously it would take months to be approved. Now, it’s about squeezing every ounce of operational efficiency, and these machines help us do that.”

Silencer Central also has diversified its business by creating marketing partnerships with major e-commerce websites to handle the back-end fulfillment of suppressor orders.

“You can’t sell unless you’re directly licensed, and we are in all 42 available states, plus we handle the documentation side of it, which would be very complex if you don’t do it every day like we do, so it makes sense for them to partner with us,” Maddox said.

“They also are anticipating a big increase when the tax stamp goes away, so we need the economy of scale to help push those orders out.”

The distribution team at Silencer Central is excited to start using the new facility.

“We’ve had very little turnover in that area. I think they’re looking forward to the new building and appreciate the culture here,” Maddox said.

Research and development also gets a big lift in the expanded space.

It includes a state-of-the-art, 50-yard gun range where engineers will test new products, as well as a 3D printing operation for making prototypes.

“It speeds up the research and development process because before, we’d design and have to send out of state to create prototypes, and it would be weeks back and forth,” Maddox said. “Now, it’s in real time.”

Silencer Central’s in-house brand Banish is now a separate company, and its products are sold to dealers and wholesalers, as well as direct to consumer. There were four product releases this year, and 10 are planned for next year.

Some products can be created using 3D printing for the marketplace, including the newly released Banish 12 shotgun silencer, which is 3D-printed titanium.

“It’s very small and lightweight and performs as one of the best suppressor brands on the market,” Jelen said. “We continue to explore leveraging this investment for future product development through 3D printing.”

The new addition also includes modern office space for the leadership team that will work here, along with areas for gunsmithing operations and barrel threading.

Silencer Central has more than 170 employees but is prepared to add more if demand surges next year as anticipated.

“We built our facility and our processes to be scalable, and our staffing is volume-based,” Jelen said. “We also have enough flexibility in our inventory to weather this slower time before Jan. 1 while still preparing for early next year.”

The new addition was built by Journey Construction.

“Kudos to Journey — the team is a first-class bunch and did a really good job,” Maddox said. “We had a fixed timeline and a fixed price, and they hit both.”