Updated: FMM joins sponsorship trend by joining St. Kilda

The four-time World Champions Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band of Belfast has announced a three-year sponsorship deal with the Glasgow-based St. Kilda Group valued at £50,000.

The band, which will retain its name, said in a statement to Piper & Drummer Online, “Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band is thrilled to have secured such a significant level of investment for the band, and for the wider pipe band community. We are looking forward to working with the St Kilda Group and to have the opportunity to demonstrate to companies that serve the pipe band community, the value of investing within that community.”

Richard Parkes, pipe-major of Field Marshal Montgomery, said, “The sponsorship is great news for the band. The band look forward to working with St. Kilda to help with their future marketing and public relations plans. The band will be retaining its name.”

The St. Kilda Group is a rapidly expanding organization that comprises various retail outlets, including Gaelic Themes and Piping Themes. The company went into bagpipe-making several years ago, and last year acquired the Airtight Season brand after the demise of R.G. Hardie.

“We are delighted to have concluded this sponsorship package with FMMPB,” said Scott Chalmers, managing director of the St. Kilda Group. “The professionalism and undoubted qualities of the playing personnel will assist the Group in all of our business activities, seeking to improve existing product lines and develop new and innovative products.”

The deal follows the recent announcement that the 78th Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band of Toronto struck a five-year sponsorship agreement with the New Hampshire-based Scottish Lion. The band will operate under the name The Scottish Lion-78th Fraser Highlanders.

Alastair Dunn, a piper with the band who was interim pipe-major during Richard Parkes’s 2004 illness, works with the St. Kilda Group.

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