KD Drums, based in the NorthWest of England, have built an enviable reputation for custom built snare drums and drumsets since their inception in 2003 under the management of Keith Keough.

He will now take on the role of head of manufacture for Premier.

Keith excelled in carpentry and drumming from an early age and specialised in the repair and restoration of drums before moving into manufacture at the request of many drummers who were impressed by the quality of his work when they came across him working at Moolah Rouge Studios in Manchester. In recent years KD have released products to critical acclaim from drummers and the drum industry on a worldwide basis.

The acquisition of KD Drums heralds a return to UK manufacture for Premier with the first of the new British built products due to be released at NAMM in January 2012. The Premier Drum Company will operate and manufacture from new factory premises in Lancashire with production starting in February 2012, which will allow KD drums to fulfil all existing orders beforehand.

Craig Buckley, General Manager at Premier, comments:

"As Premier celebrates its 90th anniversary in 2012, we are excited that this acquisition kickstarts the celebrations and sees Premier return to its natural heritage of manufacturing high quality products in the UK. We will continue to source in Asia but we now have the ability to run UK manufactured product alongside our current offering. It is also our intention that our new facility will build drums that are 100% British and following the launch of the first of the British Collection at NAMM we will introduce the second new range at Musikmesse in March 2012 which will be an astounding range of snare drums built from indigenous woods using advanced design technology."

The Premier Drum Company will manufacture high end snare drums to begin with before moving on to British built drums sets and orchestral and marching products from 2013.