In November of 2013, Neil Grover, owner of Grover Pro Percussion, sold the SilverFox Drumsticks division to Greg Scarselletti of Kingfield Wood Products. Grover owned and manufactured SilverFox sticks for 14 years. MMR spoke with Grover shortly after the transaction was completed about the factors behind the deal and what it will mean for both SilverFox and Grover Pro going forward.
MMR: When did you first begin thinking of selling SilverFox Drumsticks?
Neil Grover: I had been thinking about it for some time now. I own two different companies _ SilverFox drumstick division and Grover Pro Percussion, the original company. Both companies were growing, and we had seen some very strong growth in Grover, particularly over the last 18 months. In order to focus our bandwidth and resources on fueling that growth, I made the decision to think about selling – or partnering with somebody – on the SilverFox Drumsticks side of the business.
How did the deal come together?
It went through rather quickly. We didn’t give a public announcement that we were looking to sell. I spoke to a few friends and competitors in the industry to see if anybody would want to discuss the matter. There were a couple of interested parties. Ultimately we chose to partner with Greg Scarselletti, who is the production manager at Kingfield Wood Products [kingfieldwoodproducts.com] up in Maine. Greg is someone we’ve worked with before on some other products that we have designed, marketed, and manufactured jointly. So we already had a relationship with him, and I have a high degree of confidence in his ability to manage and grow SilverFox.
What does this transition mean for the SilverFox brand and its products?
I actually think this is going to boost the rate of growth of SilverFox. This will be the sole focus for Greg, who owns the company now. Kingfield Wood Products is a wood turning company, and they’ve been an OEM manufacturer for companies for many years, and they do excellent work. They have some highly automated equipment that is going to increase efficiency and help create a high quality product at a better price point.
How will the sale impact Grover Pro?
Our facility and staff aren’t changing, and so this will help facilitate a more rapid growth in the concert percussion sector. We can now focus all of our bandwidth on our high-end concert percussion. In fact, we’ll be releasing some newer concert percussion that is geared more towards the education market, which has been our plan for some time. Dividing our time and resources between SilverFox and Grover, we haven’t had the opportunity to grow in that direction. Now we can do it.
Were there broader market factors at play in your decision to sell?
No, this was a purely internal decision. It had nothing to do with outside market conditions. In fact, we were seeing growth in SilverFox, and we were happy with the penetration we’ve developing over the past few years.
Was SilverFox profitable?
Yes. I bought SilverFox in 1999 from the family of Al LeMert, who was the founder. I was a great fan of Al’s work, going back to his Ludwig days. He was a genius. I believe in the SilverFox product. Before I bought the company, I played it, I played it while we owned it, and I will continue to use those products going forward. I have complete confidence in the new owners to continue the tradition of very high end drumstick manufacturing. I know they’re going to be successful, and I also know that this going to help Grover Pro Percussion accelerate our growth over the next few years.
Dealer info for SilverFox Percussion:
Greg Scarselletti
GREG@SILVERFOXPERCUSSION.COM
TOLL FREE 1-800-215-2799
PHONE (207)-235-2020
FAX (207)-265-4301
Visit youtube.com/user/mmrmagazine to see video coverage of new product introductions at PASIC 2013.
