Manawatu secures three-year sponsorship with St. Kilda Group

The Grade 1 Manawatu Scottish Pipe Band of New Zealand has finalized an endorsement deal with the St. Kilda Group of Glasgow that will see the bandcovered for at least three years. St. Kilda comprises bagpipe makers R.G. Hardie and Peter Henderson and the Highland dress maker Gaelic Themes.

Details of the sponsorship were not revealed, but the band’s name will remain the same, as has that of the Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band, which is also sponsored by the company.

Manawatu has won the New Zealand Pipe Band Championships six times and was a finalist the last two times it has competed at the World Pipe Band Championships, in 2005 and ’07.

“Manawatu Scottish are delighted to have secured sponsorship from the St. Kilda Group and are looking forward to working locally with St. Kilda Australia,” said Manawatu Pipe-Major Stewart Mackenzie.” It will help the Band enormously given the difficulties we have in meeting uniform and instrument costs, which come on top of travel costs associated with attending the World Championships on a regular basis. It’s also fantastic that the St Kilda Group see value in sponsoring a band from the southern hemisphere.”

It is not yet known if the band will be playing Hardie or Henderson products, but MacKenzie added that the band “will be working closely with R.G. Hardie in further developing and promoting group pipe band products and providing qualitative feedback and input on all developments in piping.”

“This is an exciting development and I am delighted that the group has committed so fully to the region and I look forward to working closely with one of the world’s best up-and-coming Grade 1 bands,” added Doug Manger of St. Kilda Retail Australia.

Manger hinted that further announcements would be coming from his company.

In addition to this second sponsorship by St. Kilda, other piping and drumming-related manufacturers sponsor top bands, including the Scottish Lion of the 78th Fraser Highlanders and House of Edgar, which endorses Shotts & Dykehead. The sponsorshop of the latter two bands include full naming rights.

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