Is Remington Going To Alabama (With A Banjo On Its Knee)? (Updated)

Rob Curtis at the Military Times' GearScout blog is reporting this afternoon that Remington Outdoor Company aka Freedom Group will be building a new plant in Huntsville, Alabama. This new plant is reported to be equivalent in production capacity to their Ilion, NY plant. However, this new plant will supplement but not replace the Ilion plant.

Remington Outdoor Co., previously known as the Freedom Group, expects to announce a major expansion to a new facility in Huntsville, Ala., as early as next week. According to two sources with knowledge of the property sale, the deal has been in the works for months and ROC executives plan to sign the papers Monday finalizing the sale of a 500,000-square-foot facility that will add approximately 25 percent more space to Remington’s existing 2.1 million square feet of existing manufacturing real estate.

Sources say the expansion was undertaken to help the company meet unprecedented demand for its products. Space in the facility is not currently earmarked for any one of the company’s 18 individual brands, but to facilitate flexibility and growth of the Remington Outdoor Company.

Before settling on Hunstville, the company was courted by no less than 24 states and various localities hoping to add hundreds of new jobs to their economies. State and local entities in Alabama made economic concessions to attract the company, sources say. The selection of the Huntsville area makes sense, with a skilled and technical workforce already in place. The area is home to the Army’s Redstone Arsenal, which has 35,000 military and civilian employees.

Other major technical employers in the area, such as NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, and Toyota, ensure ROC will have a large pool of talent to draw upon for its engineering, technical manufacturing and product development efforts. The fact that Alabama is regarded as a strong supporter of Second Amendment rights also played a role in the selection of the area.

More on this move by Remington at the GearScout blog found here. 

UPDATE: According to the Alabama-oriented website and blog Yellowhammer, the announcement will be made on Monday about the move by Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley (R-AL).

High level sources have informed Yellowhammer News that Remington, one of the world’s largest gun manufacturers, will on Monday join Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley in announcing that they are bringing over 2,000 jobs to Alabama.

The company is viewing the move into Alabama as an expansion, but it will likely impact their Ilion, NY plant as well. The New York facility currently employees around 1,200 people. It is expected to stay open, but with a reduced workforce.

“The company is making the move as an expansion of capacity, production and research,” a source told Yellowhammer on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. “The demand for Remington products has skyrocketed recently, for obvious reasons, so they need to increase their production capacity. They will be expanding their research capabilities with the Alabama plant, too.”

The initial estimated impact on Alabama’s economy will be roughly $87 million.

 The name of the website with the above information combined with the loss for New York reminds me of that famous University of Alabama cheer which I'll paraphrase:

Hey Tigers   New York
Hey Tigers   Cuomo
We just beat the hell outta you!
Rammer Jammer Yellowhammer
Give 'em hell Alabama

H/T Bitter on the Yellowhammer story. 

UPDATE II: Phil White, in comments to a post regarding the probable move to Huntsville, says that Remington will occupy the former Chrysler Acustar/Siemens/Continental plant adjacent to the Huntsville International Airport. The property has a 570,000 sq. ft.  manufacturing facility and a 200,000+ sq. ft. research facility. The video below is a sales promo for the property. It looks like Remington is getting a facility upon which they can build a future unlike their Ilion, NY plant.