Remington Consolidation Plan

[db22]

Brian -- Good to hear your news! I also wish you success in re-settling in Ilion. I wasn't aware that Remington still had any facilities left in their old home town.

Is there any more info on that line that Cerberus was founded by retired U.S military brass who want to bring the design and manufacture of arms back to the U.S.? That had been floating around for a while after the buy-out announcement. You can never tell much about a firm from their PR statements.

[carbineman]

Brian, Thanks for the update. How many Handis and Pardners do you own?

[30-06man]

Sounds good and Thanks for the update.

[Doublebass73]

I've always liked NEF products because they've offered an affordable, reliable, American made gun for the working man. I grew up in Mass.
so I liked supporting a local gun maker. If Remington chooses to ship production to China I'll never buy another NEF product.
T/C rifles are made in my new home state of New Hampshire so I'd have no problem buying their products as I'm a big fan of single shots.

DB 73, When did you escape Taxachuesetts? Is NH sliding the way of Taxachuesetts or is it still ok? Sometime back when the Free Staters were contemplating NH we were looking out your way as an escape from Cheeseville. We were also looking at Vermont, Wyoming and some other Western states. Now with the grandchildren and family here, and old age setting in, we will probably just stay in Taxconsin. We might though have it decided for us when we retire that we cannot afford to live here. Our governor like an ugly girl friend is just hard to get rid of, and we are turning into a blue state with the welfare crowd taking over. It is sad to see once great cities like Milwaukee have areas that are just for lack of better words "lost forever".

About all one can do is take care of you and yours, and that is about it. Take Care and Godspeed to all freedom lovers.

Hey carbineman,
  I escaped taxachusetts 5 years ago. It's the best move I ever could have made. I make more money here in central NH than I did when I worked
at MIT in Cambridge and I don't have to deal with the traffic and (censored word). Plus my cost of living is much lower.

New Hampshire is still a great place to live but it has been infected with lots of socialist morons from Mass, New York, Connecticut and New Jersey.
This has been partially offset by folks like myself who moved here to escape the welfare hell holes that we came from. We are entirely Democrat controlled right now unfortunately but our governor took the no tax pledge before he got elected and knows he won't get re-elected if he implements a broad based tax so he has said recently he will veto any broad based tax that comes to his desk.
We still have no income or sales tax and a concealed carry (shall issue) permit is only 10 dollars. I live in a small town of 2500 people in 60 square miles. There are plenty of places to hunt and fish which I love. The property taxes are hit or miss. The towns controlled by the rich city transplants
have high property taxes but there are still plenty of towns where they live within their means and the property taxes are very reasonable.

Your welcome to move on over here, we could use more people like you here.

[quickdtoo]

I wasn't aware that Remington still had any facilities left in their old home town.

They list it on their website....

http://www.remington.com/about/company_information.asp

Ilion Firearms Plant & Custom Shop
14 Hoefler Avenue Ilion, NY 13357
TEL: 1-315-895-3200


Tim

[quickdtoo]

I just found an April 14th update to the original news release that has some details of the consolidation thought process.

Tim

http://wbjournal.com/j/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3733&Itemid=139

Gardner Gunmaker To Close     
Written by Livia Gershon     
Monday, 14 April 2008 
City bemoans company's 'quick decision' to shutter plant

The parent company of Gardner gun maker H&R 1871 will close the plant, which employs about 230 people.


Gardner Mayor Mark Hawke called the move by North Carolina-based Remington Arms Co. Inc. a "travesty."


"H&R has always been a profitable company," he said. "Now Remington comes in and they're going to close them."


Hawke also said Remington did not inform local officials about the closing until it made a public announcement. He said the company never contacted Massachusetts agencies that provide support for businesses operating in the state.


Remington announced plans to purchase Marlin Firearms Co. Inc. of North Haven, Conn., which owned H&R, late last year and closed the deal in January.

Quick And Dead


"It's a relatively quick decision" to close the Gardner plant, said Remington Marketing Director Al Russo. Russo said the move will consolidate operations for the company.


"We went through a study of our facilities, and this was a strategic move for us," he said.


Besides the Gardner plant, Remington also manufactures guns at three other sites, in Connecticut, New York and Kentucky. Hawke said he contacted Remington executives after hearing about the closing and was told the company had rejected the idea of closing one of the other plants and moving more production to Gardner.


"If they were to consolidate to Gardner, they would have to spend too much capital to expand the place," he said.


Russo said he could not comment on the mayor's statements. He said he did not have any information about H&R's profitability or whether the company had been in touch with any Massachusetts agencies.


Remington said it will complete the closure by the end of the year, and Hawke said a company official told him the plan is to close sometime between June and September. The company said some employees will transfer to other jobs in the company, and the rest will be offered severance, outplacement and referral services.


H&R, long a major employer in Gardner, was founded in the 1871, and at one time had a plant in Worcester. Marlin bought the company in 2000.


In 2007, Remington reported a net loss of $1.5 million and consolidated net sales of $489 million. According to the company's financial filings, it estimated the total purchase price for Marlin at $47.6 million.   
 
   

[Brian56]

  I only own a few H&R's mostly because of where I live.  Ma., does not allow rifle hunting. I do have a 20ga. slug gun that shoots 1"1/4 to 1"1/2 inch groups at a 100 yards using Remington 2 3/4" copper solids and Remington 2 3/4" Buckhammer sabot slugs. I have taken many nice bucks with this gun, and would not trade it for any gun costing twice as much. I also have a BC in 45-70 and an additional barrel re-chambered to 45-110 that I am currently custom re-building before I leave H&R Gardner.This gun will be my personal baby when finished. The wood has been hand selected and hand checkered.
  The barrel has been re-chambered and throat-ed to 45-110, and also highly re-polished and re-blued. The frame has been been custom gold Inlayed. The forend spacer, and butt plate was made from solid brass and gold plated, with the butt plate engraved with my Initials. The trigger guard is solid steel and silver plated as with the trigger, and frame pins. The Hammer is of the old H&R style with the low profile drilled and fitted with custom hammer spur, jeweled and silver plated as with the release lever. The Internal parts were also custom made with spares just in case. I will have a custom made false tang Insert made of brass and also gold plated. I did all the plating myself. This Insert will be drilled and tapped to the receiver, and the stock milled to fit.The sights are still being researched. But I am leaning towards the Kelly soule tang rear and front spirit level  front globe sight. This rifle has been modified with the help of my close friends that I have made here at H&R. When ever I look at and shoot this gun, I will always have fond memories and remember the fine people and friends that I have made here at H&R/NEF Gardner MA. I will truly miss them all dearly.

[holahead]

Welcome Brain, Thanks for the update on our beloved rifles and shotguns. If you can please keep us updated with any new info. Thanks

[Brian56]

  I will do my best to keep you all up dated as best as I can. But please understand that I have signed a disclosure notice when I was first hired. Certain company Information pertaining to the said companies policy's cannot be revealed to the public without company sanctions. To do so would violate my terms of employment.
  I will do the  best that I Can to Inform you all as to the progress of this change over, Please let us all say a prayer for all the hard working employees at H&R/NEF, that will lose their jobs with this consolidation. They were some of the best people that I have ever had the pleasure to work with.

[Mitch in MI]

Thanks for the info, Brian. I don't know whether to congratulate you on the chance to relocate away from Massachusetts or offer my condolences on getting sent to New Yawk.

Look on the bright side. Nobody's trying to make you move to D.C.

[PHATINJUN]

Brian thank you for the info. I got to tell you I am still wiping drooooolll from the key board. It just ain't fair to have that much stuff to play with and work your self a custom. It sounds like a very beautiful gun and you should be proud of it and of the memories that are built into it. But we do have a rule here. This should not get you in any trouble but you got to post a PICTURE man...when you get it done . Don't forget about us. Kurt

[holahead]

I understand you can't tell us everything. Nor would I want you to say anything that would hurt your job. I am just glad to know they are staying in the good ole US of A. Oh by the way I would sure like to see pics of your BC when it is done. Thanks

[carbineman]

Brian, Thanks for the reply. Sorry to hear of the employment issues the company is facing. I have often thought that you and your co-workers are caught between a rock and a hard place. Godspeed to you and yours, and your co-workers.

Like others I would like to see a pic of the custom rifle as well as the others. I have set up several 20 ga. Tracker II's with a scope rail and scopes and composite stock sets for hunting here in Cheeseville. The area I live in is a shotgun area and we spend 9 days hunting whitetails with the Tracker II's.

[quickdtoo]

Here's a tidbit on the Ilion Remington plant concerning H&R. 

Tim

http://www.empirestatenews.net/News/20080422-5.html

New jobs coming to Mohawk Valley at Remington Arms Ilion facility
 
ALBANY - Remington Arms will add 100 new manufacturing jobs as part of a major renovation of their Ilion Firearms Plant and Custom Shop. The 192-year-old facility, which is the Mohawk Valley’s largest employer and the nation’s longest continuous manufacturer, will undergo a $14.3 million renovation, with $3 million provided jointly by Empire State Development and the New York State Senate.

ESD will provide a $1.5 million JOBS Now capital grant to assist in the relocation and consolidation of the Harrington & Richardson Firearms’ manufacturing facility, which is currently located in Gardner, Massachusetts. Both Remington and H&R were acquired by the private equity firm Cerberus in the past year. The County of Herkimer may also apply for a $734,000 Small Cities grant on behalf of Remington Arms to be applied to costs associated with this project.

The New York State Senate will provide a $1.5 million grant to be used by Remington Arms for capital costs associated with the renovations and new equipment purchase.

Remington Arms designs, produces and sells sporting goods products for the hunting and shooting sports markets, as well as for military, government and law enforcement.
 
 

[quickdtoo]

And another...

http://www.uticaod.com/news/x1041575886

Aid for Remington could reach $4.2 million
Officials cite 100 new jobs as reason for public assistance
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 
NICOLE L. CVETNIC / Observer-Dispatch
Custom Shop Specialist Les Phillips sands the wood on a Model 700 Long Stock Rifle at Remington Arms Company, Monday, April 21, 2008 in Ilion. State Senator James L. Seward announces a $1.5 million senate capital grant that will facilitate new job creation at Remington Arms Company during a press conference at the Remington Arms Museum.

 
By COURTNEY POTTS
Observer-Dispatch
Posted Apr 21, 2008 @ 10:22 PM
Last update Apr 22, 2008 @ 06:16 AM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ILION — The possibility of securing 100 new jobs for Herkimer County played a role in the state’s decision to grant money to Remington Arms, state Sen. James L. Seward said Monday.

Seward held a press conference Monday to announce $3 million in state funding for Remington’s Ilion plant renovation, which was first reported Sunday evening on www.uticaOD.com.

With the possibility of another grant and a low-interest loan, total state and local aid to the Remington project could reach $4.2 million.

Such help makes sense for Remington, nearly 200 years old, because it is an “anchor business” for the Mohawk Valley, Seward said.

Remington Vice President of Firearms Manufacturing Joe Gross used the same press conference to announce his company’s plan to bring 100 new jobs to the Ilion plant from recently-acquired H&R Firearms of Gardner, Mass. Total employment at the plant would reach 900.

Some key H&R employees will be offered relocation, but the majority of those positions will be filled by local workers, he said.

Remington was considering other locations for those jobs for several months and decided within the last week to bring them to New York, Seward said.

“We wanted to provide an incentive so this company would make the decision to consolidate in Ilion instead of some other state,” he said.

That incentive took the form of two $1.5 million grants from the Empire State Development Corp.’s JOBS Now program and the state budget’s capital investment program, respectively.

The funds will be used as part of a $14.3 million renovation project at the Ilion plant, Seward said.

Herkimer County Administrator James Wallace said the announcement was a very important.

“It keeps our major employer here for the next 10 to 15 years,” he said.

The news of the expansion comes just one year after Remington was purchased by a private-equity firm called Cerberus Capital Management.

Other potential aid:

* Remington and Herkimer County may also work together to apply for an additional $750,000 grant through the state’s Office for Small Cities.

* The company has been offered a $500,000 loan at 1 percent interest through the Herkimer County Industrial Development Agency, agency Executive Director Mark Feane said.

“Sometimes it’s good to be on the other end of jobs that we’ve seen in the past go to other areas,” he added.

Gross said the grant money was not the only factor in his company’s decision.

“It’s not just short-term money we were looking for. It’s the long-term competitive approach … What’s the best way for our company to go forward?” he said.

During the press conference, Seward commended Gross for making a smart business decision by bringing jobs to the area. The grants, he said, are a tribute to the local work force.

Assemblyman Mark Butler, R-Newport, was one of several speakers at the press conference who emphasized Remington’s long history in the region.

“We always are talking about the next business, the next job, but preserving what we have, maintaining what have is also important for our economic future,” he said.

Remington did not contact United Mine Workers of America Local 717, the union that represents more than 600 of its approximately 800 employers, before making its announcement, union president Stu Kennedy said.

He said he has questions he would like answered, but expressed optimism regarding the news.

“Every employee wants to feel secure. If you see a business that’s building on itself, then you’ve got to feel secure about that,” he said.

[30-06man]

Thanks for the update Tim.

[Graybeard]

230 minus 100 hmm sounds like 130 NEF folks are about to be without a job. Do you really think they 100 they move can maintain both quality and quantity of production to supply the demand even with equipment upgrades? Me thinks the future does not look bright for you handi holics and your favorite rifles.

[NMUltra]

Losing your job to a plant closing is tough - I've had two jobs sent to Mexico in the last 15 years - but it's not the end of the world. Sometimes a better opportunity comes along that you might not have considered if your current situation hadn't changed.  It did for me.  My thoughts are with the folks in Gardner as they struggle with this event.
I'm not sure that the apparent downsizing of the operation is an indication of future problems for the product line - My experience has been that the number of folks actually making product is about a third to half the total folks employed, the rest are overhead.  If enough people are transferring with the product, and bringing their product knowledge, things should work out OK.  Yes, there's always a chance that the recipe will be lost, there's also a good chance that the recipe can be improved with the move - new tooling, new shop layout, eliminate some wastes that got built into the current way of doing things.

[Mac11700]

I think Graybeard is right...the future isn't always the brightest when a major relocation in in the works.It will take time for the H&R employees to get up to speed,along with the rest of the facility. Most will depend on how much of the old hand fitting process will carry over and what is becoming automated.Same for the finishes as well.If they elect to give the Ultras a high end bluing job and good stocks,then you can expect a good price increase on that line,and I look for the R3 recoil pad to be incorporated into the synthetics at some point as well.Bad news with the price of oil and the cost to make the synthetic stocks,good news is Remington does have real good ones available...Over all it is very good news they will remain in this country,the bad news is it is going to leave a hell of a void in Gardner.Maybe they can do something with the plant and those staying behind. It would be nice if they could,instead of boarding up the plant and selling it off.

Mac

[hellacatcher]

It reads to me that there was a bidding war and New York won. Massachusetts didn't even bid and lost.

[Guy Pike]

Don't bunch up! Spread out, one grenade would get the whole squad! It rings in my ears just as it did over 30 years ago. Good advice then, good advice now.

[quickdtoo]

More news for H&R employees.

Tim

http://www.telegram.com/article/20080425/NEWS/804250322/1002/BUSINESS

GARDNER— A team of state workers is planning to offer assistance within a week to as many as 230 employees of H&R 1871, who will be losing their jobs this year because of the recent closure decision by the parent company, Remington Arms Co.

Meanwhile, according to state and local officials, Remington is planning to fill out an application that, if approved by the state, will entitle the laid-off workers to extra unemployment benefits.

Mayor Mark P. Hawke said he has worked with state and legislative officials to urge the Madison, N.C.-based company, the nation’s largest firearms manufacturer, to apply for federal trade adjustment assistance, which is granted when officials determine that job losses can be attributable to foreign competition. 


“The fact that we even have to be doing this isn’t good,” he said. “But at least this allows for retraining. It’s a little something to help get them on their feet.”

A spokesman from Remington did not return multiple calls this week requesting comment. The communications director for the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development said her agency has been working with Remington to fill out the paperwork.

“The company has told us it’s applying for federal trade adjustment assistance, which, if approved, will enable impacted employees to access a number of benefits beyond the standard,” said spokeswoman Linnea Walsh.

Remington announced on April 7 it would be closing H&R on Industrial Rowe by the end of the year because of a “strategic manufacturing consolidation.”

Since then, state and local officials have joined forces to offer employees help. Ms. Walsh said a “rapid response team,” which falls under her office, has set up meetings with the affected employees. The team will meet in Gardner with employees over the next week.

“We want to do whatever we can to connect them to whatever resources we have,” Ms. Walsh said.

Examples of the response team’s offerings include training and recruitment workshops as well as putting workers in touch with one-stop career centers in Gardner and Leominster.

“There are a number of ways to help them move forward,” Ms. Walsh said.

The closure of H&R, which Remington officials have said would proceed in phases and end in December, signifies the departure of the city’s largest manufacturer.

H&R has been in Gardner since 1965. Remington bought the company from Marlin Firearms Co. of North Haven, Conn., in December.

Tommy Millner, Remington’s CEO, said in a news release the decision to close Gardner was difficult, but the consolidation “will enhance our ability to more efficiently provide quality products at competitive prices in an increasingly demanding global marketplace.”

 

[Lucky Joe]

Thanks for all your information and work on this subject Tim and Brian. Personally I think everything is going to be OK, and we can all still attend the Handi Holics meetings and tend to our addictions.

[ironglow]

Now that Remington has purchased the NEF/H&R works, does that mean they will drop their Russian single shot rifles ?

[MSP Ret]

Well guys, all may not be as rosy in the future for the great employees of H&R as we had thought. I had once heard what I thought might be a rumor that only 5 people were offered jobs and might be moving to NY with the company. Today I had occasion to check on my recently ordered .44 Mag barrel and found out that in truth VERY FEW of the great employees of H&R (CS) will be making the move with the company. I mentioned the number I had heard a while ago (5) and was informed that that was probably very close to the number that had been offered a job in the new location and would be moving.
I really am disturbed by the acts of Remington (Cerberus) in the acquisition and the way these great employees are being hurt. I believe one thing that all of us on this site can agree to is that one of the real strengths of H&R has been it outstanding employees, especially those in CS. They are truly what have made these fine little guns the outstanding product that they are. I think we all should continue to contact Remington and let them know that the fine employees in CS are to be commended and offered a generous package to move and continue to work for the company or at the least be handsomely compensated for the years of fine work they have done for the company. The company and it product are important, but it is the people behind the product that keep we, the customers, coming back, time and again.....<><....

[Ireload2]

Will Remington just abandon the warranty of earlier H&R products once they take over the line?

[DalesCarpentry]

I would dought that very much. Dale

[jdwolf]

I just hope Remington continues to market the handi rifles and doesn't make any changes to them that would increase their cost. 

[Graybeard]

That is a distinct possibility but I do kinda doubt it this time. Each time NEF or H&R has changed hands in the past and as you know that's taken place a few times in recent history, they've not honored former warranties I believe. So there is a precedent there for them to not honor the warranties. But in this case they bought a going business not a troubled one so I expect they will honor at least those since Marlin bought them out.

[trotterlg]

I believe they have in the past refused to fit new barrels to frames made by the previous owners of the company.  That could be something to watch for, whether you will need a frame made by Remington to get a new barrel.  Larry