The Minelli family began its woodcraft tradition 89 years ago in an Italian alpine valley. Four generations have moved those traditions forward, refining processes and products along the way.
In 2020, they brought their history and craft to the U.S., establishing WOOX in Hickory, North Carolina. WOOX is a premium outdoor brand, combining Italian artisan tradition with modern American manufacturing excellence. The company’s product portfolio includes world-class gun stocks and firearm furniture, axes, knives, and accessories. All its products combine performance, durability and style, utilizing high-quality materials, ergonomic designs, and exceptional attention to detail.
We spoke recently with Ben Fleming, CEO of WOOX USA, about the company’s history, its growing product line, and what makes walnut timeless.
SSR: How has the first half of the year been for WOOX?
Fleming: The first half of the year has been fantastic for WOOX! The market feels way different than it did last year, and all of us in the industry know just how hard last year was on everyone. The engagement on our new products from both our consumers and retail partners has been wonderful so far, and that alone shows me things are shifting. WOOX is making some very strategic changes and moves this year, and I have no doubt that we will see some great growth from these efforts.
SSR: Your High Grade series is growing. What do you think is bringing people back to walnut?
Fleming: The High Grade Series of products is indeed growing. This was a big gamble for WOOX and I’m so glad to see that people are responding to it. The reality is that the High Grade Series is WOOX’s chance to show off what we do best. The previous four generations of this company felt the same passion and desire to deliver something perfect, and to us at WOOX, the High Grade Series is perfection. As you can imagine, there’s a lot that goes into acquiring this Grade 4+ walnut, and many extra steps it needs to go through in order for the wood to be ready to work on. Every single piece of this High Grade walnut is hand selected. Following the selection, we sort each piece into a matching set, which ensures the handguard matches the stock perfectly. Each piece has a different grain flow and way in which it shows its beauty, so we need to take a lot of time to match those pieces with one another. It’s truly a labor of love for our team, and there’s very few people in the world better at it than we are. The reality is everyone loves an amazing piece of walnut. Every piece grows with its own character, quality, and movement in its grain structure, making every single stock different from the other. Every consumer that purchases a High Grade stock is walking around with a one-off custom piece that nature made for them. I love the story and history that each one of these High Grade stocks holds, and I feel confident that our customers will want to be a part of that story as well.
SSR: The Bravado High Grade is possibly the most attractive lever-action furniture I’ve ever seen. What’s the philosophy behind the blend of classic aesthetics and modern features?
Fleming: Thank you so much for your kind words and I happen to agree with you! We have a brand motto that says, “The Future of Tradition”, and I believe this motto perfectly captures the spirit of the Bravado series. It’s kept just enough of the classic and traditional feel that makes lever actions so wonderful, all while adding in just the right amount of modern features. Now, when you add the High Grade walnut on a lever gun, it becomes a work of art in my opinion. The Bravado series has been such a fun series to watch grow. It has quickly become one of our best-selling series in the WOOX catalog. In my opinion, the lever-action side of our industry will never go away. I feel it’s the origin of what made us all fall in love with firearms in the first place. We have a lot of runway left for new designs and additions to the Bravado Series and I can assure you our talented team is working on it right now. I’m looking forward to seeing this part of our business expand and grow in the coming months and years.
SSR: WOOX products have a very bespoke look. Incredibly functional, but some of it looks too nice to get dirty. What types of users are your products geared for?
Fleming: This is a great question and something we talk about in-house quite frequently. I’m sure any of our grandfathers or great grandfathers would have been confused or amused by this question because everything was made of wood in their day. Firearms with wood stocks have fought wars around the world and still adorn some of the most classic firearms out there. There’s no doubt that wood, especially high-grade wood, gives the richest look to any firearm; though, along the way, we may have forgotten about the quality, durability, and robustness wood actually offers. So, who are our users? Well, some love to keep them as trophies in their safe, while others still take them out in the field and use them every season. Some see the wear and tear as a product that has many stories to share. For these reasons it’s a very hard question for me to answer. WOOX products are built for someone who appreciates the uniqueness and beauty of wood, yet desires it to have the modern look and compatibility with modern firearms.
SSR: How are you cutting through the market clutter of so many aftermarket parts manufacturers?
Fleming: There’s always clutter and always someone trying to carve their way into some new segment of the market. That’s OK and we’re here for it all. My philosophy is: two ears, one mouth. If we’re listening to the market, to our customers, and to our retail and dealer partners, then we’re doing something right. I don’t know everything and neither does anyone else. The best thing we can do as a company is open the door to our customers and partners by asking for feedback and what we can do to be a better company. They are the heartbeat of what keeps us in business, and they hear and see it all. It’s my job to make sure they know we’re here to listen.
SSR: What’s the difference between designing a gunstock vs. a knife or axe? Or are the philosophies really the same?
Fleming: The philosophies are all similar, but gunstocks can certainly be more challenging. It’s most challenging to make sure every stock we design is compatible with all the other firearm manufacturers we build them for. Each manufacturer has their own fit and finish, and the list can be long and detailed to make sure WOOX stocks work correctly. One thing gunstocks, axes, and knives have in common is the need for them to fit people of all different shapes and sizes. A knife may be perfect for one person, but too big in someone else’s hand. The same is true for gun stocks, and trying to make sure the stock fits most people is undoubtedly part of the secret sauce when it comes to designing the perfect stock.
SSR: How have the company’s first seven years compared with initial expectations?
Fleming: I can easily say that we’re all blown away with the support and success that WOOX has had in the last seven years. Our original designs were indeed unique and cool, which allowed WOOX to originally grab a foothold in this market. We’ve learned so much about our segment of the industry since then, and it’s truly by forming some lifelong partnerships and friendships along the way that we’ve been able to do that.
Anyone who works in this industry knows how tight everyone is, and it’s the one thing I love about it. All it takes is for one person to give you a shot, and I’ve been so honored and fortunate to have been given that chance by so many. Our amazing in-house team at WOOX and our exceptional customers are the core reasons we’ve been able to grow. I’ve always said I can’t sit in front of someone and talk about a product I don’t truly believe in. It doesn’t feel authentic for me to do so. We put our heart and soul into building WOOX every day, and we believe in and stand behind each and every product we make.
SSR: Where does WOOX see potential for growth? Are whole new product categories a possibility in the future, or is the focus on the spaces you’re already in?
Fleming: WOOX is surrounded with growth potential. Although we’ve carved out a wonderful business within our categories, there’s huge opportunity in other areas. As an 89-year-old wood making company, we’re clearly known for being best at that, but it certainly doesn’t mean that we can’t play in some other areas too. You can see from our product catalog, we use a mix of all types of materials … metal, wood, aluminum, carbon fiber, and the list goes on. We offer products compatible with lever actions, shotguns, ARs, AKs, bolt-action rifles, etc, which hopefully shows everyone we love to put our unique spin on lots of different types of firearm categories. We’re always working towards new innovative designs and finding new ways to do it. As William S. Burroughs said so perfectly, “When you stop growing, you start dying.” We have a full pipeline of new products and I’m excited about our future!
SSR: What’s your personal favorite WOOX product?
Fleming: First off, anything made in our High Grade walnut is my favorite product. It’s just so beautiful to hold and see the character in every piece. Aside from this, I have two other favorite series, and I just don’t know that I can choose one of them. I share your love for the Bravado series because there’s nothing like a lever action, and I so appreciate the massive market share they still hold in our industry.
The second would be our new Elegante Series of bolt-action rifle stocks. Like the Bravado, the Elegante line is designed to look like a classic wood stock, but designed with modern ergonomics and a fully integrated aluminum mini-chassis. This mini-chassis allows the stock to operate like any modern chassis rifle out there. This design gives the user repeatable bedding for the barreled action and drops into the stock with the precision of a modern firearm. It also mitigates any potential issues with expansion and contraction due to heat or cold like older wooden stocks were known to suffer from.
We offer two versions in the Elegante lineup; a beautiful traditional-style stock that we call the “Sporter,” and another model called the “Hybrid.” The Hybrid gets its name because it blends a classic look with modern ergonomics like a near-vertical grip angle, full M-LOK rail on the bottom of the front handguard for Arca combability, and QD flush cups to name a few. The best part is both stocks come in around 33 to 35 ounces in total weight, depending on the action length. I’m looking forward to watching this series grow.
SSR: How does WOOX support its dealers? And how can dealers get set up?
Fleming: WOOX is making a major push to open up new dealers and continue supporting those we’ve worked with for years. The dealers are the backbone of our industry, and a major part of how our consumers learn about and gain access to all the cool products this industry has to offer. We currently have a nationwide rep agency called Elite Outdoor Sports, and they offer our dealers hands-on access to all things that Woox has to offer. I’ve worked with them for over 15 years, and they’re family to me at this point. The same is true for the dealers around the country. These wonderful people have supported me through my career in this industry and I’m going to bend over backwards to pay them back for their loyalty and support. We have the best in-house team here at WOOX, and packaged with the Elite Outdoors team, we’re working to get out there and talk with every dealer we can.
SSR: Is there anything else you’d like retailers to know about the company or your products?
Fleming: I want to thank our retail partners from the bottom of my heart for all the support they’ve offered us here at WOOX. We will continue striving to offer you the best product and the best service we have to offer. We truly wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for your support and I’m forever grateful for every one of you.
