Remington

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Not Just Famous For Country Music

August 20, 2013 by 1 Comment

Nashville, Tennessee is justly famous as being the center of country music. It is home to both the Grand Ole Opry and the Country Music Hall of Fame. And, if the rumors being reported by The Tennessean are correct, the future home to a major Remington Arms manufacturing plant.

One of the nation’s largest gun manufacturers, Remington Arms, has looked at sites around Nashville for a potential corporate relocation or expansion that would likely include hundreds of manufacturing jobs.

The Madison, N.C.-based company, which is part of the nation’s largest firearms company and has its largest plant in Ilion, N.Y, has scouted sites near Nashville’s airport, Lebanon and in Clarksville, Tenn.

Why Nashville?

According to the story, a plant in Middle Tennessee would place it between their plants in Lonoke, AR and Mayfield, KY. Moreover, it would only be a 2 hour drive to their technical and research center in Elizabethton, KY. They also have a distribution center run by a third party in Memphis.

An expanded article in today’s Tennessean notes that owners of industrial locations are having their properties scouted.

Reports about Remington’s search for sites come as owners of large tracts of land and economic development officials said they’re seeing more corporate relocation and other prospects in Middle Tennessee. Within the past two months, local real estate investor and developer Bert Mathews has encountered unidentified prospects at his 180-acre Buchanan Point site near Nashville International Airport off Interstate 40.

They include a 50-acre user, a 10-acre user and other users that had sought space for a 250,000-square-foot building. “Everybody’s looking at Nashville,” said Mathews, also a past chairman of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.

Local and regional economic development officials were mum when asked about Remington’s search. “It is the policy of the Clarksville-Montgomery County Economic Development Council to refrain from discussing business recruitment projects, whether they be rumored or real,” said spokeswoman Robin Burton.

If Remington chooses to relocate operations from New York, it would add to the list of companies doing or planning to do so in part to protest stricter gun laws.

I should emphasize that these are only rumors but I doubt The Tennessean would have run a story specifically naming Remington Arms unless they had a solid source confirming the visits by Remington.

On the face of it, Middle Tennesse makes sense. You have engineering programs at Vanderbilt and Tennessee State along with engineering programs at Tennessee Tech, the University of Tennessee, and the University of Memphis which are within easy driving distance. You have a transportation hub with the intersection of Interstates 24, 40, and 65 and a good airport. And you have a gun-friendly, business-friendly right-to-work state.

What’s not to like about all of that if you are in the firearms industry?

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Remington Breaks Ground On Ammo Plant Expansion

August 9, 2013 by 4 Comments

As I reported a few months ago, Remington is planning to expand their ammunition manufacturing plant in Lonoke, Arkansas. Yesterday, they held their ground-breaking ceremony. It attracted the politicians as both Gov. Mike Beebe (D-AR) and US Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR) spoke. I’m sure as Democrats in an increasingly red state they wanted to be perceived as pro-gun. Pryor, by the way, was one of the few Democrats to vote against Manchin-Toomey.

The plant expansion is a $32 million project and is expected to be operational somewhere around mid-year 2014.

Remington Plant Manager Jim Grahlmann declined to comment on the purpose of the new facility, for competitive purposes, he said. Grahlmann added that while he couldn’t be specific, the new plant will add 50-100 “relatively high skill positions.”

He added that some of those jobs may be offered to current employees of the plant, depending on their qualifications.

Grahlmann said the new addition to the plant will be 35,000 square feet and should be constructed by June 2014, though he is unsure of when it will officially open, due to the company having to move the equipment into the facility.

While the plant manager is being a little closed mouthed about the purpose of the new facility, the PR department of Remington was not so reticent.

The Remington expansion will help meet consumer demand for quality ammunition products at a time when many sportsmen and gun owners are struggling to find supply. Further, it will stimulate both the state and local economy.

“This groundbreaking ceremony marks a significant event for Remington and for the Lonoke community,” said George Kollitides, Chief Executive Officer of Remington. “It demonstrates our commitment to state-of-the-art facilities; ensuring quality, increasing product availability and improving on-time delivery to our customers. The expansion also allows us the opportunity to provide job growth within a community that has supported us since we laid the first cornerstone here in 1969. We are honored and pleased to celebrate this expansion with such great partners.”

I really did like one comment that Gov. Beebe made regarding supporting expansion versus only recruiting new businesses.

“As we strive to create new relationships with new partners, we must never forget the ones we already have,” said Gov. Mike Beebe in reference to helping an existing manufacturer. “It is so much easier to expand existing business than it is to create new ones.”

THV Channel 11 has more on the ground-breaking below. I do want to correct one mistake that anchor Craig O’Neill made. He stated that Remington was the only company to make both firearms and ammunition. That is incorrect. ATK which makes Federal Ammuniton would also fit in that category with its acquisition earlier this year of Savage Arms.

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“Industry Leading Firearms Manufacturing Company” Is Considering Rockingham County, NC

June 13, 2013 by 3 Comments

The Town of Mayodan and the Rockingham County Partnership for Economic and Tourism Development have announced that “an industry-leading firearms company” is considered locating a major facility in Mayodan. The unnamed company will be hosting an open house on June 18th for potential employees. They are trying to find out if there are enough qualified employees to staff the plant.

As I posted in mid-May, Ruger had announced at their Annual Meeting that they had narrowed their search for their third manufacturing plant down to North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas. One of their major requirements was an existing manufacturing facility of approximately 250,000 square feet. Rockingham County has approximately six available facilities that would meet this qualification according to a list from
Rockingham County Partnership for Economic and Tourism Development. Mayodan has two facilities on this list that were former Unifi Textile plants. 


Rockingham County is also home to the headquarters of Remington Arms/Freedom Group which has about 200 employees in Madison. However, as WGHP MyFox8 reports, the company considering Mayodan is not Remington.

Officials have not disclosed what the company is, but Graham Pervier, president of the RCPETD, said it is not Remington Arms.

Pervier could not say how many jobs would be created as a result of the possible expansion, but he said it is “a substantial number.”

The company is now working to decide whether the region has enough qualified candidates to support the expansion, Pervier said.

Town officials in Mayodan are quite excited about this possible new company and are strongly urging potential candidates to send their resumes.

“We’re pretty excited about what this could mean for our community,” Mayodan Town Manager Michael Brandt said. “This offers the potential to reuse one of our existing buildings and provide hundreds of much needed jobs for the area.”

Brandt said the amount of support demonstrated in this early candidate screening process would be a major determining factor in the company’s decision on location.

“So we really need people with the right skills and experience to apply as soon as possible,” Brandt said. “There’s a short timeframe here and we want to show the workforce is here and ready.”

The latest unemployment reports show that Rockingham County has a 10% unemployment rate. Mayodan, which is located in western Rockingham County, is located equidistant (or about 30 miles) from both Greensboro and Winston-Salem.

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The Demand Curve Has Shifted To The Right

May 10, 2013 by 5 Comments

With all the new shooters coming into the market, the demand curve for ammunition has shifted significantly to the right. In other words, the market for ammunition has grown and grown substantially. Unfortunately, supply has not kept up with demand. One just has to go to the sporting goods department at any Walmart to understand that.

One of the common questions that Rob Morse and I asked of ammo producers last week at the NRA Annual Meeting was about supply and whether we’d be seeing the shortage easing. The answer was always that they were working at full capacity and they didn’t know when they’d catch up with demand. The problem for manufacturers beyond filling orders is deciding whether or not this current demand for ammunition is a short term up-cycle.

Remington has made the decision that the increased demand for ammunition is here to stay. As reported in the Outdoor Wire this morning, Remington announced a $32 million expansion to their ammo plant in Lonoke, Arkansas. They expect this new capacity to come on line in the second quarter of 2014.

“We are proud to provide job growth within communities that have supported us for so many years, while meeting the increasing global demand for superior ammunition products,” said Jim Grahlmann, Lonoke Plant Manager. “This expansion reinforces our commitment to deliver the finest quality products for our customers.”

“We continue to invest in all of our manufacturing operations because we are committed to ensuring quality, increasing product availability and improving on-time delivery,” said Kevin Miniard, Chief Operating Officer of Remington. “This significant investment in Lonoke is a testament to that commitment. Our customers can count on Remington to invest in its manufacturing operations in order to ensure that its facilities are state-of-the art and its employees are the best in the industry.”

If Remington is willing to spend $32 million to expand plant and capacity, it is as good an indicator as any that the increased demand we are seeing for ammunition is not just some short term event. Remington is betting house money that it is here to stay.

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Remington Takes A Stand

February 25, 2013 by 9 Comments

Remington has set up a new website that allows people to send a prepared email regarding gun control efforts to elected officials at the national and state level. The website called “Take A Stand Now” also has a way to send a selection of prepared Tweets to your senators and congressman.

This brings to four the number of firearms and ammo manufacturers who have provided an easy way to send a pro-gun rights message to the White House, Congress, and the State Houses.

I used it to send out the pre-written message on Saturday morning. I received a personal email from State Senator Jim Davis (R-Macon) by that afternoon. My point is that the message does get through.

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Oh, The Irony!

February 2, 2013 by

In the little Mohawk Valley village of Ilion (population 8,053) sits the nation’s oldest continuously operated arms manufacturer Remington Arms. It employs over 1,300 well-paid and talented workers in a region that has seen over 11,000 manufacturing jobs lost since 1990.

The village had a town meeting in January before the vote on the NY-SAFE Act. As you can well imagine, their concern was over jobs and not gun control.

The NY-SAFE bill was enacted into law and the concerns over jobs was ignored.

So it should come as no surprise that a number of states have contacted the Freedom Group about moving their Remington Arms plant to a state that is more appreciative of gun rights and gun manufacturing jobs.

At least five states have contacted the parent company of Remington Arms to encourage the gun manufacturer to relocate in response to New York’s new, tougher gun control laws.

Lawmakers from Michigan, South Carolina, Arizona and Oklahoma have all sent letters to Remington’s owner, Freedom Group, since the state Legislature passed tougher gun control legislation two weeks ago. Texas first contacted the company in November 2012.

While North Carolina isn’t mentioned in that list, I would be surprised if officials from the state’s economic development office haven’t already trekked to Madison, NC to speak with Freedom Group executives about relocation. If they haven’t, they are being derelict in their duties.

Mohawk Valley economic development officials and politicians are taking these contacts very seriously. Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney (R-New Hartford) called fears that Remington might relocate “realistic” while Herkimer County IDA Executive Director Mark Feane said they are very concerned given the incentives that other states might offer.

No one knows at this time what the Freedom Group will do. However, if they do move the Remington Ilion plant, I would find it deliciously ironic if the trucks moving the plant’s machinery just happened to detour around the Governor’s Mansion and the New York Capitol Building on their way out of state. It might lengthen the journey by a few hours but it would be worth it to remind politicians about the law of unintended consequences.

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Colt And Remington To Relocate?

October 9, 2012 by 5 Comments

The Firearm Blog ran a story today about the potential for Colt and Remington to relocate manufacturing out of Connecticut and New York respectively if those states adopted the flawed technology known as microstamping. The story noted as have others that many states would welcome these firearms manufacturers if they decided to leave the Northeast.

Cam Edwards of NRA News did an interview this evening with Larry Keane, General Counsel of the NSSF, on this issue. Keane repeated the NSSF’s position that the technology needs more study before it could ever be adopted. Moreover, and I didn’t know this, he said the patent holder of this technology has come around to the same position and is urging more study of microstamping.

Joe Huffman of the View From North Central Idaho has an excellent overview of the technology and its limitations on his blog here.

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It Depends On Whose Ox Is Being Gored

March 23, 2011 by 1 Comment

The Wall Street Journal reported that the Freedom Group’s expansion of their Remingon Arms facility in Ilion, NY plant will add 40-50 new jobs there. They are moving their Bushmaster operations from Windham, ME to Ilion in a consolidation of operations. The means that Bushmaster AR-15’s – those evil black rifles – will now be made in New York State.

The senior Senator from New York, Chuck Schumer, has a well-deserved reputation for being an enemy of gun owners and gun rights. That is why I find his remarks on the expansion of the Remington plant so ironic. He says he is all for guns if it means jobs for his constituents and if he can push the military to buy more “made-in-New York” firearms.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 22, 2011

SCHUMER: 40-50 NEW JOBS COMING TO REMINGTON’S MANUFACTURING PLANT IN ILION – JOBS WILL BE A HUGE BOOST TO MOHAWK VALLEY’S ECONOMY

Bushmaster Firearms Set To Move Production From Maine Facility To Ilion, Bringing Scores of New Jobs And Economic Opportunity To Central NY

Schumer Is A Long-Time Supporter Of Remington Plant, Helped Bring New Business By Securing Vital Grants And a Level Playing Field to Compete For Government Contracts

Schumer: These Jobs Are Great News For Mohawk Valley Economy

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer joined Remington officials and plant employees to announce that Bushmaster Firearms is relocating a manufacturing facility from Windham, Maine to Ilion, NY, bringing over forty new jobs to Central New York in the process. Schumer has been a long-time supporter of manufacturing at the Remington plant, urging top Army officials to open up competition for the Army’s small arms contracts to other U.S. manufacturers and domestic producers across the country like the Ilion, New York-based Remington. Today, Schumer applauded Remington’s decision to add new jobs to the productive and capable work force already making the factory an economic powerhouse in the Mohawk Valley.

“What a great day for Remington’s Ilion plant, the Mohawk Valley, and Central New York’s economy,” said Senator Schumer. “Thanks to Remington’s continued confidence in this capable workforce, we’re going to see even more good-paying jobs at the plant, creating positive ripple effects throughout the region. The addition of these jobs strengthens the ability of the Remington plant in Ilion to compete for the many Department of Defense small arms contracts available this year by adding to the skilled workforce and further enhancing the manufacturing capability for M-4 and M-16 style firearms. As I have always done, I will work tirelessly for a fair and open contracting process with the military so the Ilion plant and its workers can compete on a level playing field, and continue to produce the high quality equipment our men and women in uniform deserve and expect.”

Senator Schumer has long been a strong supporter of the Remington facility. He led the effort in Congress to repeal the law that limited competition for small arms contracts, so that Remington can now compete for small arms contracts with the Department of Defense. Schumer also successfully pushed the Army to open up their application process and solicit competing contracts in order to modify Army’s M-4 carbine. As a result of this effort, Remington is now competing with other companies to win the contract.

After the Army identified a requirement to upgrade its M-24 sniper rifle used in Afghanistan, Sen. Schumer secured funding for the upgrade from Congress. Schumer’s success in securing funding for this project ultimately allowed Remington to compete for and win a contract to upgrade the Army’s 3600 M24 sniper rifles (now called the XM2010). The Army recently ordered an initial quantity of 250 XM2010s, which Remington is currently manufacturing and the Army is shipping to our sniper teams in Afghanistan. Schumer’s push for an open contracting process that allows Remington to compete with other manufacturers has resulted in economic growth and new jobs coming to the Ilion facility.

Given that the Freedom Group’s headquarters is in Madison, North Carolina – just north of Greensboro – it is a shame that they didn’t bring those jobs South to North Carolina.

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Recall On Certain Remington .223 62-Grain HP Ammo

March 16, 2011 by

Remington has issued a product safety recall on certain lots of its .223 62-grain hollow point (match)ammunition. The full recall notice is below:

Product Safety Recall Notice
Warning

REMINGTON .223 62 GR (MATCH) HOLLOW POINT AMMUNITION WITH
LOT NOS. H03RAI, H04RDI, H16NAI OR H17NDI

Remington has determined that four (4) Lot Numbers of its .223 Remington 62 Gr Hollow Point (Match) Ammunition may have been improperly loaded. The four (4) Lot Numbers are identified above. Improper loading may cause a malfunction of the cartridge when the firearm is fired resulting in higher than normal pressures. This malfunction may result in damage to the firearm, serious personal injury or death.

Do Not Use
REMINGTON .223 62 GR (MATCH) HOLLOW POINT AMMUNITION WITH
LOT NOS. H03RAI, H04RDI, H16NAI OR H17NDI

To identify if you have one of these Lots of ammunition:

* If you have a case of .223 Remington 62 Gr Hollow Point (Match) Ammunition the Lot Number is stenciled on the outside of the case; and,
* If you have a box of .223 Remington 62 Gr Hollow Point (Match) Ammunition the Lot Number is stamped on the inside flap of the box.

If you have any of this .223 Remington 62 Gr Hollow Point (Match) Ammunition, as identified above, immediately discontinue use of this ammunition and contact Remington at the below telephone number. Remington will arrange for the return shipment of your ammunition and upon receipt will send you replacement ammunition at no cost to you. If you are unsure whether or not you have one or more of these Lots of ammunition or if you have mixed boxes of ammunition; please immediately discontinue the use of the ammunition and contact Remington at the below telephone number – we will replace this ammunition for you.

For any consumer questions or instructions on how to return of your .223 Remington 62 Gr Hollow Point (Match) Ammunition with one of the following Lot Numbers H03RAI, H04RDI, H16NAI OR H17NDI, please contact the Remington Consumer Service Department at 1-800-243-9700, Prompt #4.

The only Remington .223 Remington 62 Gr Hollow Point (Match) Ammunition affected by this recall has one of the following Lot Numbers H03RAI, H04RDI, H16NAI OR H17NDI . No other Lots or ammunition is affected.