Here's a sad story about the impact on the local community.
I never had a chance to buy a Remington. Always wanted to, never had the funds. I've been looking at a Model Seven in 204 Ruger, but it was just too much $$$. Now I wonder if I'll ever have the chance.
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Sale of Remington Brings Worry and Hope
Associated Press
Apr 6, 2007 : 6:20 pm ET
ILION, N.Y. -- The $370 million acquisition of historic Remington Arms by a New York City-based private-equity firm has left this upstate community feeling somewhat unsettled -- but also hopeful for a better future.
The 191-year-old gun maker was purchased Thursday by Cerberus Capital Management. Cerberus is buying Remington for about $118 million and taking on its $252 million in debt.
While Cerberus officials said they saw "tremendous value" in Remington, they indicated little else about the direction they will take the company, which is one of the two largest gunmakers in the United States. The sale is expected to be completed in June.
News of the new ownership circulated quickly in the community Thursday, and workers, business owners and residents worried about the future of one of Herkimer County's largest employers.
"It would be like a ghost town if they were gone," said John Lombardo, who owns a pizza shop near the plant.
Many employees were not surprised by the sale, said Stephen Brown of Ilion, who has worked at the factory for 12 years.
"We knew that there were some people looking at it," he said. "There were a lot of rumors."
But now workers are trying to fathom what it might mean for them.
Thirty-four-year employee Steve Winslow said he would have to leave the area if he lost his job.
"There's nothing else around here," he said. "Of course everybody is worried."
The plant has survived rumors of a shut down dating back a decade or more.
In 1998, a state-funded aid package helped the Ilion plant modernize amid union concerns that Remington Arms planned to shift production to Elizabethtown, Ky.
"I don't anticipate any negative impact from the sale," said state Sen. James Seward. "In fact, once the dust settles a little bit here, we intend to reach out to the top people at Remington and their new owners and talk about ways we can have an expanded role here at the Ilion plant."
But that doesn't mean there won't be some worrying involved, said Assemblyman Marc Butler.
"Anything that affects Remington Arms, which is the backbone of our local economy, is very unsettling," he said.
The company was founded in Ilion in 1816 by Eliphalet Remington. The privately held company is now based in Madison, N.C. and employs 2,500 at several locations, including the plant in Ilion with 1,000 employees. The company makes rifles, shotguns and ammunition, but not handguns.
After several years of slumping earnings, Remington posted profits of $107.6 million last year on sales totaling $446 million, a nearly 9 percent jump from 2005, said Remington Chief Executive Officer Tommy Millner.
Remington's sale to Cerberus is an acknowledgment of Remington's strong brand name and tradition, Millner said.
"We see this sponsorship as an opportunity to enhance our production capabilities and product offering and further our growth both domestically and internationally," he said.
The U.S. firearms industry includes about 200 companies in a $2 billion annual market. American manufacturers are challenged by increased federal regulations, lawsuits and imports taking on a larger share of the business, according to analysts.
Cerberus has assured Remington that no staff cuts are planned, Remington spokesman Al Russo said.
"It's just a change in ownership," he said. "Right now, there is no anticipated change in employment for anybody."
Nevertheless, Cerberus has made tens of billions of dollars worth of corporate acquisitions in recent years, earning a reputation for taking troubled firms and reworking them into profitability. Those changes have often involved layoffs and asset sales.
Officials in Herkimer County, in which the town sits, and neighboring Oneida County, will have to work together to protect against any setbacks stemming from the sale, said Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente.
"I really hope that it means a positive and not anything less for the area," Picente said
