Remington Announces Consolidation, Will Move Plants to Huntsville
OutdoorHub Reporters 05.16.14
Spokespeople from Remington Outdoor Company (ROC), formerly Freedom Group, announced this week that the company will be closing facilities around the country and moving operations to Huntsville, Alabama. The announcement comes several months after ROC CEO George Kollitides said in February that the company will setting down roots in the Cotton State with an investment of $110 million.
“Earlier today we announced the consolidation of multiple company plants into our Huntsville, AL facility,” ROC director of public affairs Teddy Novin wrote in a statement to the Flathead Beacon. “This was a strategic business decision to concentrate our resources into fewer locations and improve manufacturing efficiency and quality. We are working hard to retain as many people from the affected facilities as possible.”
According to Guns and Ammo, the affected facilities include:
- TAPCO of Kennesaw, Georgia
- LAR Manufacturing of West Jordan, Utah
- PARA US of Pineville, North Carolina
- DPMS of St. Cloud, Minnesota
- AAC of Lawrenceville, Georgia
- Bushmaster production from Illion, New York
- Remington R1 production from Illion, New York
- Montana Rifleman in Kalispell, Montana
ROC currently operates out of 19 locations in the United States with its largest plant in Ilion, New York. The Ilion plant provides the bulk of Remington’s manufacturing power and holds a certain historic significance for the company. The town of Illion sits close to the forge where Eliphalet Remington II made his first firearm, and Remington Arms, ROC’s namesake, has been making guns there for over 200 years. After Remington announced plans for expansion outside of New York last year, 24 states courted the firearms maker. Alabama was chosen due to its business climate and strong support for the Second Amendment.
“I am honored to welcome Remington to Alabama,” Governor Robert Bentley said earlier this year. “The Alabama workforce, our business climate and our quality of life continue to make Alabama extremely attractive to companies. Remington will soon experience the same type of success that other companies in Alabama have already experienced.”
Novin did not detail when the plant closings will began or what will happen to the hundreds of affected employees. Montana Rifleman and DPMS Panther Arms hold a workforce of about 270 people alone. According to the St. Cloud Times, DPMS Panther Arms also makes the claim of being the second-largest manufacturer of AR-15 rifles in the country and contributes more than $100 million a year to Minnesota’s gross state product. The largest manufacturer of AR-15 rifles is Bushmaster, which is also affected by the consolidation.
ROC did estimate that it will be creating more than 2,000 jobs in Huntsville—Alabama’s second largest city by population—over the next 10 years. Local economists said that the real number of jobs brought to the area through sectors such as construction and home building could be as high as 6,000.
