Beretta USA Announces $45 Million Expansion to Tennessee
OutdoorHub Reporters 01.29.14
Beretta USA announced today that the company will be building a new manufacturing facility in Gallatin, Tennessee. In a press release, Beretta stated that it expects to complete the construction of the Gallatin facility later this year, which will also bring along a minimum of 300 jobs.
“It is with pleasure that I appear before you today to announce our selection of Tennessee as the new home for Beretta manufacturing and development in the United States,” said Beretta executive vice president Franco Gussalli Beretta at a press conference.
The cost of the expansion is priced at $45 million. According to Beretta USA’s general counsel and vice-general manager Jeff Rah, deciding upon the final site for the company’s expansion took months of consideration.
“Around March 2013 the Beretta family decided to expand its manufacturing and business operations outside Maryland, where Beretta U.S.A. is located,” Rah said. “We started our search by looking only at States that have a consistent history of support for and likelihood of future support for Second Amendment rights.”
Two months after Beretta decided to expand elsewhere, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley signed a set of strict new gun control bills into law. Beretta heavily opposed the new laws, leading some to speculate that the gun maker might be leaving the state. While no changes have been announced yet for the company’s Accokeek factory, it is clear that Beretta plans on putting down roots in Gallatin.
“When Beretta chooses a location for its business, we start with the possibility that we will be in that location for decades, if not hundreds of years, to come. We move forward with confidence knowing that Tennessee is a great place to do business. We look forward to our opportunities here and we look forward to working side-by-side with our new Tennessee neighbors,” Rah said.
Franco Gussalli Beretta credited Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam for his persistence and skill in marketing the state as a place where the gun maker can grow. The company did not lack for suitors after it announced its intentions to expand, which also drew offers and interest from Texas Governor Rick Perry and politicians from other states.
Founded in Italy in 1526, Beretta is the oldest family-run firearms manufacturer in the world.
