Light at the End of the Tunnel? Remington Building New Ammo Plant, Foreign Ammo Imports Double

The current, implacable demand for all types of ammunition, self-defense and target, practice and hunting cartridges is still stripping store shelves of everything from loaded ammo to basic components, leaving shooters around the nation, even law enforcement, without the means to enjoy their guns.

And even though every day people hear about one store here or there with ammo in stock, for the bulk of shooters, that just isn’t a reality.

Some companies have been reluctant to add additional manufacturing capabilities; if the demand for ammo comes to a point before they can recoup their costs, the manufacturers will be left holding rather large bills. Domestic ammo manufacturers have been operating at capacity for nearly a decade straight because so many companies are reluctant to expand.

Remington isn’t one of those companies. They’ve pledged a whopping $32 million to expand their Lonoke, Ark. plant with the construction of an entirely new manufacturing facility. The expansion is expected to be up and running at full capacity by the summer of 2014, with ground broken for the new building by the second quarter of this year.

“We are proud to provide job growth within communities that have supported us for so many years, while meeting the increasing global demand for superior ammunition products,” said Jim Grahlmann, Lonoke plant manager. “This expansion reinforces our commitment to deliver the finest quality products for our customers“

While we don’t expect the ammo shortage to last through to next summer, it took several years for ammo prices to stabilize after the last run in 2008, which was insignificant in comparison to the current ammo supply problem. Having more product in the supply chain will help prices return to a fair market price.

“We continue to invest in all of our manufacturing operations because we are committed to ensuring quality, increasing product availability and improving on-time delivery,” said Kevin Miniard, Remington COO. “This significant investment in Lonoke is a testament to that commitment. Our customers can count on Remington to invest in its manufacturing operations in order to ensure that its facilities are state-of-the art and its employees are the best in the industry.”

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