Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Ruger's Expansion


Mike Fifer, CEO of Sturm, Ruger, announced at their shareholders' Annual Meeting on April 30th, that Ruger is actively searching for a third manufacturing facility. They are using a site selection consultant, Greyhill Advisors of Austin, TX, to help them narrow the search.

According to Mr. Fifer and the slides shown at the Annual Meeting, they have identified three "attractive sites" in the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas. Ruger is not planning to build a plant but rather is seeking a manufacturing facility of about a quarter million square feet that is not being used currently. Fifer says they are looking for something relatively new, that has "phenomenal electricity", and good transportation  that is located in a community that is Second Amendment friendly. The community should also have a good existing workforce and a number of engineers.

This expansion is being driven by new product introductions and not unit volume or capacity driven. Ruger has found over the last few years that new product introductions have not cannibalized existing product lines as expected. The freeing up of existing machines dedicated to mature products just didn't happen. Fifer said that customers would go to the gun store spurred on by interest in the new Ruger products and end up buying both the new guns and the older guns.f

The goal is to move a new product line to the plant, transfer some lead employees to help get it started, and to be off and running in the new plant.

The rationale behind the third manufacturing facility is that they have just plain run out of space at the existing plants in New Hampshire and Arizona. Since 2006, they have increased the workforce from 1,300 employees to 2,100 employees while producing approximately four times as many firearms. Fifer said their run rate in firearm sales has grown in the same time period from $140 million annually to over $600 million annually.

Now it just remains to be seen which of the three sites they pick. As a North Carolinian, I hope they pick the Tar Heel State. Our unemployment rate is higher than the other two states under consideration, we have a governor and legislature that is pro-Second Amendment and pro-business, we have a great transportation network, we have plenty of engineers, and we have better BBQ.


9 comments:

  1. Amen on all counts, especially the eastern NC-style BBQ. No other state does it right.

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    1. My favorite still remains Stamey's in Greensboro which is Lexington-style. That said, I've eaten at Wilbur's in Goldboro, Allen and Sons in Chapel Hill, and Parker's in Wilson. I wouldn't turn down a plate from any of them.

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  2. My bet would be on Texas. And Texas BBQ is much better.

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    1. We will have to agree to disagree on that last part.

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  3. Texas has no state income tax and better BEEF BBQ. "pulled pork" is some kinda sandwich.

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    1. @Fiftycal: I grant that TX has no state income tax and that you make better beef brisket. However, BBQ is pork. Besides, I prefer chopped or sliced to pulled pork.

      http://www.ourstate.com/stameys-old-fashioned-barbecue/

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  4. Come on over to Colorado.... oh wait, that wont work.

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  5. You guys keep calling something that sits in mud and it's own crap BBQ, in the mean time I'll keep calling stuff like this http://www.coopersbbqllano.com/ BBQ. :)

    Y'all come on down to Texas. We like guns, gun makers and REAL BBQ. :)

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  6. Only savages eat NC BBQ. Come to Texas!

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