The latest on the Marlin Plant Move

[quickdtoo]

http://www.uticaod.com/highlight/x1920417896/Officials-100-jobs-coming-to-Remington-Arms

Officials: 100 jobs coming to Remington Arms

Positions relocated from closed Conn. facility



By JENNIFER BOGDAN
Observer-Dispatch
Posted May 11, 2010 @ 02:57 PM
Last update May 11, 2010 @ 08:40 PM
ILION —

It’s another win for Remington Arms.

About 100 new manufacturing jobs and a $5.9 million expansion project are coming to the Ilion-based firearms plant.

Hiring at Remington’s Ilion facility could begin within a matter of weeks. The additional jobs will boost the plant’s total employment to more than 1,000.

State, county and village officials present at the Tuesday announcement said it speaks volumes about the area’s workforce and could lead to additional job growth and economic development for the county.

“The fact that a major corporation chose to grow in Herkimer County is just a fantastic sign,” County Administrator James Wallace said. “We’re hoping that other businesses will take a look at this and say ‘What do they see that we don’t see? Let’s take a look.’”

The jobs are coming as a result of a recent announcement that Marlin Firearms, a Connecticut plant owned by Remington’s parent company, the Freedom Group, will close by June 2011. Herkimer County officials in March said they were working to bring the jobs to Ilion.

The announcement is the latest in a string of good news for the manufacturer that struggled with more than 150 job cuts around 2007, but has been on an upswing ever since.

Last month, Gov. David Paterson signed legislation that that allows firearms manufacturers such as Remington to build, possess, transport and dispose of gun silencers for governmental and law-enforcement use. The legislation allows the company to compete for future defense contracts worth millions.

And in 2008, after a Massachusetts plant shut its doors, around 200 jobs were relocated to the Ilion facility, sparking an $11.5 million renovation project.

State Sen. James Seward, R-Milford attributed the latest good news to the company’s previous commitment to create jobs and improve the quality of life for the area.

“At a time when our economy is starting to rebound, I am hopeful that others will follow Remington’s lead and look to Upstate New York for their expansion,” Seward said.

‘The clear choice’
The expansion project will include building improvements and equipment upgrades over the next two years. A number of grants, including $1.5 million from the Empire State Development Corporation, $200,000 in 2010 electricity cost subsidies and a $750,000 state Community Development Block grant will offset the cost of the project.

“Ilion became the clear choice due to the experience of the workforce combined with the incentives offered by the state and Herkimer County,” Joseph Gross, Freedom Group’s chief operating officer, said.

As for the new jobs, some positions may be filled by former Marlin workers interested in coming to the Ilion plant, and nearby residents will be in the running for others. The hiring process will be complete within nine to 12 months, officials said.


Some officials said past precedent suggests that more than the 100 jobs announced could be created.

“The last time we had an announcement like this, it was for 100 jobs, and we did much better than that,” IDA Executive Director Mark Feane said. “In these economic times, that’s huge.”

In 2008, when officials said jobs from the closed Massachusetts plant would come to Ilion, the announcement also projected 100 jobs would be added locally. But, in reality, the number of jobs created was closer to 200, officials said.

Whether that could happen again remains to be seen.

“I’m not going to speculate,” Gross said. “We’ll see in a year from now.”
Copyright 2010 The Observer-Dispatch. Some rights reserved

[Rangr44]

FWIW, Some Marlin guns will be made in NY, and others in Mayfield, Kentucky - as Marlin will be splitting production between those two facilities.

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[mr.frosty]

Good news indeed!

[mechanic]

As long as Americans make them on American soil...I'm happy

[temmi]

"As long as Americans make them on American soil...I'm happy "

Me too... but I would like them to be made in Texas