The only question here is: “What took them so long?”
Kimber Manufacturing is moving its corporate headquarters to Troy [AL] and will “aggressively hire” in all departments. The firearms manufacturer last week announced it is moving to a new facility it built last year on 80 acres with more than 225,000 square feet of space, with design engineering, product management and manufacturing space.
In an announcement, the company said Troy was chosen for, among several reasons, its proximity to engineering schools as well as pro-gun, pro-business support from the city of Troy and Alabama.
They’re going to find out how much cheaper and more congenial it is to do business in the South.
The company said it is seeking applicants across several categories, including CNC technicians, machinists, quality control specialists, lean technicians, design engineers, compliance analysts, customer service representatives, materials planners, maintenance technicians, finishing operators, and assembly technicians.
And I’m glad they’re going to hire locally as well — obviously a bunch of Noo Yokkers are going to make the move with them, but as they all work for a gun company, they can’t be too NYFC, can they?
Best part of this is that if you buy a Kimber from now on, that part of your money is no longer going to support the tax base of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s New York State.
Next up: Henry Repeating Arms, in Bayonne, Noo Joizee. It’s time this All-American company moved to America.
I see uber-lib Joe Rogan has relocated to TX to escape the shit show that is Kalifornia. Not-so uber-lib Ben Shapiro bailed on Kali for Tennessee for the same reasons.
The tell here is “…a new facility it built last year…”
If memory serves, they announced their intentions awhile ago. You may have even mentioned it. Then again, I’m old and that may have been gunfreezone.com.
Watch the Rogan episode with Ron White. He tells Ron how great Austin is, and he’ll do anything to keep it that way. “…tell me who I have to vote for to keep this.”
Dudes not as dumb as he looks. Then again, who could be?
The real tell is the “lean technicians” . Their job is to cut inefficient work methods to improve production. Which means do it as fast as possible while maintaining tolerances. Appearance comes a distant second place.
With all the new hires the chances of them coming from a firearms background are slim. I wouldn’t be surprised if fit and finish quality dropped.
Actual quote: “A blueberry in a bowl of milk.”
Kimber will have plenty of time to get up-and-running in AL…..
NSSF announced this morning that the 2021 S.H.O.T. Show has been cancelled because no one can figure out how to comply with the “group size” restrictions put into place by the King of Nevada. 2020 attendance was 60K spread over 4 days with 2400 exhibiters – and this is a show that is not open to the public.
Springfield Armory should be the next gun manufacturer to move.
It’s in Illinois (where I regret to admit I was born).
Les Baer moved across the river to Iowa around 10 or so years ago even though some barking moonbats showed up at the city council meeting to bleat about giving a business permit to a company which manufactures weapons of war, as if, of course, that’s a bad thing.
I’ve lived in TN most of my life and we have a ridiculously strong economy.
But it’s not a matter of fortuity that we do – to the contrary it’s because we had an activist conservative legislature which created a favorable business climate.
More autos are manufactured in TN than in any other state.
We have no income or death taxes, we have good gun laws, we are a right to work state (that has recently been enshrined in our state constitution) and we have employer-friendly worker comp laws.
Okay, I know you’re thinking “but y’all have Lamar Alexander”, which is a fair criticism, but he’ll be gone in a few months.
We also have Marsha Blackburn, who is a goddess.
There are a HELL of a lot of places in Arizona that would love to have a firearms or ammunition manufacturer relocate to the desert southwest. Even Liberal bastions such as Tucson or Flagstaff would love to have the increased employment numbers and tax base. Buckeye in the West Valley, Mesa or Chandler in the East, are building business facilities and residential neighborhoods as fast as they can ship in lumber and drywall.
No hurricanes, no blizzards, few tornadoes or earthquakes, and you can point and laugh at liberal morons all day. Are you worried about the 400 days this summer we hit over 100 degrees? Ain’t nuthin’! Damn-near everything’s air-conditioned nowadays, and the beer is ice cold.
Hey now, there are plenty of fine folk in Illinois who appreciate Springfield Armory, you just have to look south of I-80. I’ll be here a while, as farmland doesn’t move well…
I go back to St. Louis once a year to see family there and then over to Mascoutah, ILL to see more family.
I have to empty out my revolvers, put them in secure cases and ammo in another container and leave all of this in my trunk.
While driving past my birth-town of East St. Louis on the interstate.
It scares the hell out of me.
We farm, too, but ours is in TN/MS.
Y’all have some magnificent farm land in central Ill.
Indeed we do. Good land and good people in the small towns too. As far as the rigmarole in taking a firearm into this state, I wonder if national carry reciprocity would fix that issue.
Harrington and Richardson
Smith and Wesson
Colt
Marlin
Ruger
Savage Arms
Iver Johnson
Mossberg
Thompson
Ithaca
Dan Wesson
Winchester
PTR
Windham Arms
Bushmaster
DPMS
Can’t forget the government owned and run plant, the world famous and original Springfield Armory. Not to mention other government run manufacturing plants such as Watertown Arsenal etc.
They have either moved production out New England, been sold off to other companies, gone bankrupt, sold out or moved out of the region. The Connecticut River valley used to the arsenal of Democracy.
Ruger moved production out of their home state of Connecticut for Arizona and New Hampshire. Colt still manufactures in Connecticut. we’re all familiar with Marlin being bought by Remington’s parent then sold again to Ruger. Smith and Wesson manufactures in Massachusetts, Maine and still has some manufacturing in Connecticut. Their warehouse moved out to the midwest. Sig is up in NH still.
It’s appalling that this history is tossed away with good paying industrial jobs and tax base because the hoplophobes think firearms are “icky.”
Bridgeport CT also had an ammunition plant owned by Remington, I think. If not it was owned by Olin Corp.
JQ
None of the viable firearms companies should stay in blue states; or for that matter, any viable company. When Magpul left Colorado in protest I was glad (understood completely) to see them go. Go Kimber!