by Joshua D. Silverman

JS: Craig, you've been in Paintball for a long time, longer than most of the people playing today. For those who don't know your extensive credentials, tell us a little about your time in the game, sport and industry of Paintball. 

CM: I began in March of 1988 as National Sales Manager of... a major Paintball distribution company... doing everything from creating pricelists and catalogs to traveling the country to set up major new Retail Sporting Goods accounts. In`97, I left that company and spent a year setting up a Sales and Marketing department for a friend in the Industrial Laser Marking industry, before joining my old Canadian customer and dear friend, Richmond Italia, now the President and CEO of  Procaps(tm), and we've been making and selling fabulous paint, masks and other innovative Paintball products ever since, now under the DXS(tm) / DraXxuS® banner.


JS: What is your role in the industry today?

CM: As the Senior VP at Procaps LP in Montreal, I play many roles at the strategic and advisory level. In addition to conducting Dealer Seminars together with Mike Peverill (the President of our wholesale distribution arm, Procaps Direct), I am also the communications and Press liaison, and Procaps' liaison to the ASTM and Paintball Sports Trade Association , in addition to managing some very large key accounts. Finally, I am also Procaps' point man for its ever expanding presence in WoodsBall, my longtime favorite category of the game. Obviously, all of this results in a lot of travel every year.


JS:  So you've been around Paintball, selling paintballs and now making paintballs, for a long  time. Who makes the best paintballs in the world?

CM: That's easy.  Procaps LP in Montreal, Canada. Better still, ask 100 random customers, and count their answers. You'll see that the opinion is unanimous; in Tournaments, in WoodsBall, in the USA, and all across Europe, we have earned our position as the reliable favorite. It makes us all very proud!


JS:   Considering your current job title, I'm sure everyone expected that answer.  Isn't it just the company line?

CM: No, it's very real. It takes a lot of dedicated and committed people to earn a solid reputation that is so widespread.  It's very deliberate. It takes a ton of teamwork. Achieving and maintaining a position at the top of any industry demands an intensely premeditated passion to win, and that passion is really fun to be around. The behind-the-scenes teams that make Procaps tick, from production to sales to distribution to management, are all an intense bunch of creative and interesting people. Achieving what this group has done has been a ton of long-term hard work, so when the fun kicks in, this group can be a blast to be with!


JS:  So you really believe Procaps paints are the best in the world, maybe the best ever? What makes them so good?

CM: We put a tremendous amount of care, expense, time and energy into maintaining a manufacturing term called "repeatability". That's using the exact same materials, formulas, process steps, environment, drying times, etc., for each and every batch, resulting in the highest consistency in the size, shape, weight and quality of our paintballs, making them shoot much more consistently than any other products available on the market. That is the hallmark of our excellence. It's very difficult to achieve and maintain, but our methods work.


Craig Miller at a Procaps Seminar in Tampa, Florida

JS:  Changing gears for a moment, what top teams, top players, top fields and top event producers use Procaps paints today?  More importantly, did these people, producers and teams choose Procaps paintballs, or was Procaps just another company they sent a resume to?

CM: We have products that appeal to the entire range of players, from neighborhood `ballers to Pros to business owners to international event promoters. Many of the best have sought us out to form lasting associations.

Our products are featured in major tournaments such as the NPPL, PSP, CFOA, CXPL, Europe's Millennium and Centurio leagues, from South America to Canada, from Europe to Asia, there are too many more to list.

For WoodsBall Scenarios, major  promoters have come to us including the S.P.P.L. Scenario League, the week-long Oklahoma D-Day(tm) events (D-Day, Blackhawk Down, A Bridge Too Far), the  Skirmish USA(tm) series (Battle for Berlin, Invasion of Normandy, Siege of  Stalingrad) and the Hell Survivors(tm) Trilogy (Global Conquest, Monster Game and Tippmann Challenge), plus MPP - Millennium Paintball Productions(tm), Fledgling  Scenarios(tm), and many, many more.

Having access to a reliable top brand of paint (and masks) is absolutely critical for big event promoters, and as a Team, paint can totally affect your position on the podium. Throughout the year, around the world, the Teams that spend the most time on that top podium spot are shooting DXS(tm) / DraXxuS® paint for its reliable top-of-the-charts performance.


JS:  What brands and levels of paintballs does Procaps offer? Is there something for everyone?

CM: There really is a full array for every level and discipline of player. From the tournament-bred DXS(tm) Gold(tm), Silver(tm) and Bronze(tm), to the Scenario-spawned DXS(tm) Blaze(tm) and Midnight(tm), there are specialty paints, formulas, and even Camo finishes for every kind of gun and taste. In fact, even our value-priced RecSport® and Triumph(tm) brands are dramatically better than the competition's low end stuff.


JS:  Why the switch from Hellfire®, Inferno®, etcetera to XBall®, and now to DXS(tm)?  What paints are which now?

CM: Great question - With an eye toward clarity of purpose, and a clear focus on raising the bar even further, we  have solidified our paint brand offerings, morphing the best qualities and  favorite features of each former brand into the new, pure and distilled DXS(tm) line.

For the tournament and high-performance minded players, the legendary world-beating HellFire® and Inferno® fills were blended with the remarkably successful, championship-winning shell formulas of XBall®, creating  the fresh, new DXS(tm) lineup.

For the WoodsBall scene, the world's biggest selling Blaze® and Midnight® brands have been reinvigorated.  Blaze® is now available in printed patterns including the insanely cool multi-color Digi-Camo used at Oklahoma D-Day(tm). The new Blaze® Battle-Map packaging now shows the paint's true calling as a WoodsBall-focused product.


JS:  Where can store owners, field owners, and players find Procaps' DXS(tm) & DraXxuS® paints and products?

CM: Another good question! Paintball Players can find DXS(tm) / DraXxuS® paint, VForce Masks and DXS(tm) gear at Paintball stores and fields everywhere.

Retailers, Field Operators and Event Promoters can set up Wholesale-Direct Accounts now at 1.866.688.8880, or call directly to the nearest warehouse to place orders:

Virginia Warehouse: 571.261.3162

Texas  Warehouse: 972.579.0400

Illinois Warehouse: 630.628.8075

California Warehouse: 909.390.6191

Florida Warehouse: 407.851.8840

Oregon Warehouse: 503.853.8670    

Canada: 888.666.3606

Europe: +3252 (37) 54 74