Chief of gun firm touts site in state

Sig Sauer plant vital, group told

The top executive of Sig Sauer said Tuesday that the company's ammunition plant in Jacksonville has become a vital part of its business and the plant will be even more important as Sig Sauer takes more ammunition offerings to the market.

Ron Cohen, president and chief executive officer of Sig Sauer Inc., told a group of dignitaries at the plant, including Gov. Asa Hutchinson, that the Jacksonville operation has beaten all expectations, going in a short time from an anticipated 50 employees to 160. The plant makes small-arms ammunition for the civilian, law enforcement and military markets worldwide. The company also builds night sights at the plant.

He said the company has invested more than $30 million in the operation so far and that the plant had the capacity to produce 250 million rounds of ammunition annually. Currently it produces about 10 million rounds a month.

Cohen said that in the coming months, the company will employ technology at the Jacksonville plant that will disrupt the global ammunition market.

New Hampshire-based Sig Sauer centralized its ammunition production at a new plant in Jacksonville in 2017. Sig Sauer's ammunition offerings include cartridges optimized for self-defense, practice, competition and hunting, along with match-grade, subsonic and supersonic rounds.

In 2017, when it purchased the 70,000-square-foot building on 43 acres at 1809 Swift Drive in Jacksonville's primary industrial district, the company said the location allowed for expansion if needed.

"This building is too small," Cohen said Tuesday.

Hutchinson helped lure Sig Sauer to the state with a cold call to Cohen just after the governor took office. Hutchinson and Cohen credited the Arkansas workforce with Sig Sauer's success in Arkansas.

"Sig Sauer, welcome, thank you and let's continue to grow," Hutchinson said.

The privately held Sig Sauer makes pistols, rifles, ammunition, optics, silencers, air guns and accessories. The company moved its ammo production to Arkansas from a leased location in Kentucky.

Based in Newington, N.H., Sig Sauer is part of a worldwide group of firearms-makers including J.P. Sauer and Sohn and Blaser, GmbH in Germany and Swiss Arms AG in Switzerland. Sig Sauer Inc. employs about 1,700 workers in eight locations in its U.S. operations.

A number of custom firearms-makers, air-gun suppliers and ammunition companies call Arkansas home.

In Fort Smith are Umarex USA and Walther Arms, both under the umbrella of Arnsberg, Germany-based PW Group. Custom gun-makers Wilson Combat and Nighthawk Custom call Berryville home. North Carolina-based Remington Arms has its large ammunition plant in Lonoke, and the parent company of Daisy Outdoor Products -- Gamo Outdoor USA -- moved its U.S. headquarters to Rogers in early 2017 and expanded the facility there.

According to research company WalletHub, Arkansas ranks seventh among states in economic dependence on the gun industry. In a 2018 report, WalletHub ranked the 50 states on 13 key metrics that examined the gun industry, gun prevalence and gun politics. Idaho ranked first, and Maryland ranked last. The survey ranked all 50 states on 16 key metrics that examined the firearm industry, gun prevalence and gun politics.

The FBI reported National Instant Criminal Background checks for firearm purchases in 2018 totaled 26.18 million, up from 25.23 million in 2017 but down from 2016's record-breaking 27.54 million. The checks have been tallied since 1999. While the FBI background-check figures don't represent the number of guns sold, they are generally used as indicators of firearms demand.

A report on firearms and ammunition sales released in November by market research firm IBIS World indicated sales for ammunition nearly equaled sales for firearms in 2018, making up nearly 27 percent of the total $17.5 billion in revenue generated by U.S. sales. The report notes that when compared with 2013 levels, this segment's share of revenue from ammunition declined because of faster growth in other segments and less demand from the civilian market. The report predicts annual revenue growth of 2.8 percent over the next five years in the combined segment.

Business on 04/17/2019

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