Roustan Sports Ltd. announced the acquisition of Grey Owl Paddles Limited of Cambridge, Ont., Canada’s top producer of wooden paddles for the canoe, kayak and dragon boat market on Wednesday, May 28, 2025.
The full product line can be viewed at GreyOwlPaddles.com. Founded in 1975 by avid canoeist Brian Dorfman, Grey Owl Paddles annually produces over 50,000 paddles with distribution throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia.
“Grey Owl Paddles is a Canadian legacy brand and I am immensely proud to continue as a steward for that legacy,” said W. Graeme Roustan, executive chairman of Roustan Sports Ltd. “Brian’s lifelong commitment to competitive and recreational canoeing and kayaking will continue to be honoured, as each magnificent Grey Owl product is created and sold.”
“In this 50th anniversary year, I want to thank Roustan Sports for securing Grey Owl’s future,” said Brian Dorfman. “The brand remains strong for future generations to enjoy.”
All Grey Owl Paddles custom machinery and manufacturing equipment has been relocated to Roustan Sports’130,000-square-foot mega-factory in Brantford, Ont. where Roustan currently manufactures over 300,000 hockey sticks annually for its customer brands as well as for house brands Northland and Christian, which are available at STIX.com.
Roustan Sports Ltd. will maintain and grow Grey Owl’s established dealer network while adding a Shopify-powered online outlet storefront to move existing non-dealer inventory at GreyOwlPaddles.com.
Grey Owl Paddles Limited was the first company to market innovative bent-shaft paddles on a mass-produced scale at affordable prices, transforming the company from a 1970s cottage industry to an international paddle powerhouse.
Over the next five decades the company continued to expand its offerings. Grey Owl is also the world’s biggest manufacturer of Dragon Boat paddles.
Grey Owl Paddles can be found at GreyOwlPaddles.com while W. Graeme Roustan’s portfolio of owned companies can be viewed at Roustan.com.
