GUNS/BARMS

[mr40]

Gun Manufacturer Fed Up With Gun Controlled NY, Sets Up Shop in the South
JANUARY 24, 2018

It is no secret that New York state isn’t a friendly environment for supporters of the Second Amendment or businesses engaged in the firearms industry. This has been made abundantly clear in recent years by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other elected officials.

The consequences of New York’s anti-gun attitude and laws just hit home economically as a premium firearms manufacturer in the state has decided to expand their business into the decidedly pro-Second Amendment state of Alabama instead of continuing to grow their original home in Yonkers, just north of New York City.

Kimber Manufacturing Incorporated, maker of top-end handguns and rifles, will soon open a new production facility in Troy, Alabama, according to AL.com.

The large automated design, engineering and manufacturing plant is expected to be opened in 2019, and will cost about $38 million and provide over 366 jobs over the next several years.

During her State of the State address, Gov. Kay Ivey proudly announced that Alabama “can offer Kimber an ideal business environment and a skilled workforce for its expansion project.”

“Kimber’s investment in Troy will create a significant number of high-paying design, engineering and manufacturing jobs, and we are committed to helping the company find long-lasting success in Alabama,” she added.

The move was welcomed by the state’s Secretary of Commerce Greg Canfield, who stated that Kimber was “a first-class firearms manufacturer with a reputation for precision craftsmanship, dependability and accuracy, which makes it just the kind of high-performance company we want to attract to the state.”

A news release from Kimber noted that the new plant in Alabama will essentially double the manufacturing capacity of the 21-year-old business, which is headquartered in Yonkers and maintains a small facility in Montana.

“We are pleased with the impressive track record that Alabama has with attracting and retaining world-class manufacturing companies,” stated president and CEO Leslie Edelman. “Growing our company intelligently depends significantly on being in the right manufacturing environment, and in Troy, we have a community dedicated to our long-term success.”

“We will be building a large, automated, state-of-the-art design engineering and manufacturing facility in Troy to support Kimber’s growth plan and strategy,” said chief operating officer Greg Grogan. “Troy offers us expansion with a passionate workforce, affordable utility costs, a pro-business environment, experienced local training support, and long-term incentives from the State of Alabama and the City of Troy alike.”

“This expansion, in conjunction with our existing manufacturing facilities, talented and experienced employees, and best-in-class products provides for exciting times here at Kimber,” he added.

To be sure, Kimber said nothing in regard to the draconian gun control laws they face in New York in its news release, though the National Shooting Sports Foundation had no problem pointing out various aspects of the state’s anti-gun SAFE Act that quite likely played a role in Kimber’s decision to shift the company southward to a more gun-friendly climate.

On the other hand, Bearing Arms noted that Kimber probably didn’t say anything about the gun control laws since they will still retain their original facility in Yonkers, and most likely don’t want to bring too much negative attention to themselves from anti-gun politicians.

If they really wanted to make a statement against New York’s laws that would grab everybody’s attention, they would have uprooted the entire operation and moved it south, though that likely would have left some of their original employees in a bit of a bind.

Regardless of the reasons behind the move, it is excellent news for Alabama, future employees and the firearms industry. It is not so good news for New York, as they are losing out on new jobs and tax revenue that could have been theirs, if not for their proud anti-gun stance.

https://conservativetribune.com/gun-manufacturer-ny-sets-up-south/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=conservative-brief&utm_campaign=dailypm&utm_content=western-journal