It's Official! Ruger Opening Plant In North Carolina

Move over Texas and South Carolina, Ruger has decided that their third plant will be in NORTH Carolina.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. Announces Pending Purchase of Third Manufacturing Facility In Mayodan, North Carolina

July 08, 2013

Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. (NYSE: RGR) announced today that it plans to open its third manufacturing plant, a 220,000 square foot facility in Mayodan, North Carolina. This will be the Company's first major expansion in over 25 years and it is expected to be finalized in August.

The Company currently employs over 2,000 people in its two plants in Newport, New Hampshire and Prescott, Arizona.

 In mid-June, Ruger officials said they expected to make an announcement by August. They must have really liked what they saw in Mayodan and the Piedmont Triad.

UPDATE: While it hasn't been confirmed, I believe the building that Ruger will use for its NC manufacturing plants is the old Unifi 15 plant. According to the NC Department of Commerce website listing available industrial sites, the building was built in 1989 and has a total of 221,600 usable square feet of space. It is located at the intersection of Cardwell Road and, I kid you not, Cupcake Trail in Mayodan. Looking at the location from Google maps, it appears to have plenty of room for expansion.

UPDATE II: According to WGHP Fox 8 in High Point, the plant shown above is the building that Ruger will be buying for their 3rd manufacturing plant. Gov. Pat McCrory (R-NC) is scheduled to make a major announcement today about an economic development and I anticipate it will be this plant. I'll have more on that as it becomes available. (It was regarding a GE Aviation expansion - not Ruger).

As the report below makes clear, this is big news for the Piedmont Triad and especially for Mayodan and Rockingham County. They have an unemployment rate of greater than 10% so quality new jobs will be greatly welcomed.