on a global scale. We’re looking to ex- pand globally outside of our Southern California roots. We still lean into the Southern California roots, but we want to expand beyond that, so new product development and re-engaging with the music community is a big part of the rebirth of SKB.” What makes SKB Cases stand out is the construction of the cases themselves. For instruments that travel thousands of miles and endure the unforgiving condi-
tions of touring life, SKB’s cases are con- structed from a copolymer polypropylene engineered for higher impact resistance. “I think the hardcore musicians, par- ticularly touring musicians, never lost sight of SKB,” Saxon said. “We’re the only case company out there that provides a lifetime warranty on our product. That’s how much we believe in the product. No one else does that. Why wouldn’t you, as a retailer, put it on your shelves? Because it’s not coming back.” MI
rigorous product testing, Saxon recalled recently watching a test engineer aggres- sively drop an SKB case during evaluation. While others may have flinched, Saxon said he remained calm, telling his col- leagues not to worry since the products were secure inside SKB cases. Leveraging his automotive background and several members of his previous team, Saxon spearheaded SKB Cases’ successful effort to achieve an AS9100 certification, the gold-standard quality management system for aerospace and defense. “The AS9100 certification was a real accomplishment as it’s the marquee aero- space defense quality certification,” Saxon explained. “It’s very difficult to get. Typi- cally, that’s a 24-month effort. Thanks to my automotive background and some former teammates who were excited to follow me to California and join in on what’s going on at SKB, we got that done in six months.” As he entered his first few months as CEO, Saxon’s vision for the company is steering it towards an even more inten- tional future that reconnects with SKB’s music roots. “The first thing to do is the old Hippocratic Oath of ‘do no harm,’” Saxon said. “Come in and learn the business. The ability to learn from the founder of the business is a unique opportunity. The first thing I did was listen and learn. The second thing I did was start to hire industry professionals to augment what we already had. We’ve hired quite a few outside salespeople. We’ve also brought on some new rep groups, so we have a very good mix now of professionals who have been in the industry for a long time. We’re marrying new ideas while honoring the legacy of the business that has been very successful in this first year of new ownership.” “They brought this through new tech- niques and education and people who have come in just to fill holes that we’ve had in this place,” Sanderson added. “It’s terribly exciting to me to walk around and look at what they’ve done, and the positive changes being made here and at our plant in Mexico.” Global Expansion Ahead Moving forward, Saxon plans to focus on new product development as a rebirth of the brand. “The product speaks pretty loud for itself, and those who own SKB speak pretty loudly for it,” Saxon said. “We’re promoting the brand while honoring the legacy. We have a desire to be a player
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