kelbly rifle guys

  • By Tami Lange Mosser
  • January 1, 2014
  • 888
                        
George Kelbly Sr. came from a long line of bricklayers and he himself joined the family trade. But he had his hobbies; rifles were one of them. So back in 1969, he decided to make his hobby his business, buying a rifle range on some rural acreage outside of Orrville. By 1976, Kelbly opened a retail store at the range. A few years later, he was joined in business by Ralph Stolle, who made particularly effective rifle actions. When Stolle died in 1982, Jim Kelbly joined that was now officially a family business, Kelbly’s Inc. Over time, Jim’s brother’s – George Jr. and Mike – came aboard, followed more recently by Jim’s sons, Ian and Ryan. Headed into the New Year, the company on Dalton Fox Lake Road has 15 employees and is looking to expand its product line and its customer base. George Sr. sold the company to his sons in 2012, Jim Kelbly said, and spends a few months of the year in Florida. But when he’s home in Ohio, he often comes by the office to check on business. Business, Jim Kelbly said, is good and getting better. Kelbly’s produces a high-quality custom rifle and most of the pieces it takes to make one. “The only thing not manufactured here,” he said, “is the barrel.” That means on any day, you may find employees and family alike at work on actions, stocks, scope rings and triggers, made for shipment all over the planet. For years, the company has been buoyed by sales to short-range bench-rest target shooting enthusiasts and, in fact, hosts the world’s largest competition for that avocation. Last May, 270 riflemen from 16 countries came to Wayne County to compete in the annual Firearms Industry Super Shoot. Bench rest target shooting employs as much math and engineering it does pulling the trigger, as competitor rest their rifle barrels on a tripod on sorts, with sandbags supporting the the stock. Flags line the 100-yard and 200-yard paths to the target, and shooters base their shots on the wind and other variable weather factors. Once the calculations are complete, they fire five 6mm bullets at the target, hoping for a tight group. Tight, Ian Kelbly said, as in a hair’s width separating the first-place competitor from the runner up. Measurements are done, Mike Kelbly said, by a caliper that measures up to one-thousand of an inch or so. “It’s not,” he said, “something you can just buy somewhere.” And frankly, the three agree, a rifle like that isn’t something you can just buy anywhere either. “We are,” Jim Kelbly said, “the Ferrari of rifles.” Like a Ferrari, a good rifle does not come cheap. The Kelblys find that the majority of their rifle business – 70 percent and growing -- is done overseas, even though taxes and import fees can double the price of a sold abroad. Building sales in foreign markets depends “on how well versed we are exporting firearms,” Ian Kelbly said, noting conducting business means working with multiples U.S. government agencies, including the FBI, ATF, the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security. The market remains hot in Europe, while business in former Community Bloc countries and most of South America is still closed. “If we could get into Russia,” Jim Kelbly said, “we would triple our profits.” Back at home, Mike Kelbly said, it’s not difficult to find an affordable firearm, so “everyone from Joe Mechanic to your doctor is shooting something.” Kelbly’s business has remained generally unaffected by the national firearms debate, as what Jim Kelbly called “the Obama bubble,” was geared more toward tactical firearms. “Our business has grown recently,” he added, “because of what we’ve done” rather than because of the gun debate. While the company continues to service a loyal customer base with the manufacture of its custom rifles, the Kelbly’s remain aware that many customers just want a part: a scope or an action or a trigger. Jim Kelbly also noted the business has been making forays into the hunting market for the past four years, and has been working on package rifles as well. As the number of military personnel return home, Ian Kelbly said, he is finding there is a growing interest in practical shooting “just so they can stay in practice.” To that end, targets are longer range competitions include multiple skills, including shooting from a prone position or climbing a cargo net to get a better look at a faraway target. While Jim Kelby said he shoots most for publicity for the company, a number of employees use the products they manufacture and often bring ideas about how to make a good firearm even better. The dialogue “actually drives the company forward,” Ian Kelbly said. His father added, “We have to look at not only today, but tomorrow. The employees come in and help us think.” As business grows and new products emerge, Jim Kelbly said he thinks the future of the family business is bright. “We want to make a darn good product and treat our employees with respect, so everyone goes home happy, with a paycheck in their pocket,” he said. In the meantime, he said, he dad sits by and watches, but seldom interferes. “I think he’s proud” of what his sons and grandson are going, Jim Kelbly said. “I think he’s not disappointed at all.”


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