New Haven Plant Closing

[Keith L]

I think this is all one big poker game between Marlin, New Haven, the local union, and the state of Connecticut.  Marlin has nothing to lose and was first to act.  Now the action is on New Haven.  Maybe Marlin is bluffing.  Who knows?  That's capitalism at its best.  Its also good poker.

I didn't think Marlin's workers were union. 

[victorcharlie]

I think this is all one big poker game between Marlin, New Haven, the local union, and the state of Connecticut.  Marlin has nothing to lose and was first to act.  Now the action is on New Haven.  Maybe Marlin is bluffing.  Who knows?  That's capitalism at its best.  Its also good poker.

I didn't think Marlin's workers were union. 

I think it's the hassle of doing business that makes companies pack up and move south.  Lower taxes, right to work laws etc.

[Swampman]

Not to worry the 94 will be back soon !

And as poorly made as ever.

[crash87]

The move didn't hurt Remington.  They are better than ever as is Winchester.

Not to worry the 94 will be back soon !

Not to worry the 94 will be back soon !

And as poorly made as ever.

   HMMmmm   

[SHOOTALL]

The 94 may come back better ! I have had 3 Marlins with feed problems - 357 . 375 and a 30-30 . Maybe the plant needed closing ?

[Swampman]

Maybe the feeding problems are caused by what you're feeding them.  That's normally the case.

[quickdtoo]

This is just a blog,  take it for what it's worth.

Tim

http://www.downrange.tv/blog/?p=2567

After 140 years, the Marlin plant located in North Haven, Connecticut will be closed by the middle of next year. According to Remington Arms sources, the facility is being decommissioned and the manufacturing relocated to Remington’s Ilion, New York facilities, the Marlin lines are not moving offshore.

[Keith L]

That would make more sense than moving to a brand new plant, assuming the Remington plant has extra capacity.

[Dee]

Well at my age I don't need anymore guns made by anybody, so I guess I'll be alright regardless of where they move.

[mechanic]

Well at my age I don't need anymore guns made by anybody, so I guess I'll be alright regardless of where they move.

Same here Dee.  I got enough to shoot and hand down....

[Keith L]

Well at my age I don't need anymore guns made by anybody, so I guess I'll be alright regardless of where they move.

Same here Dee.  I got enough to shoot and hand down....

I have all I need, but nowhere near all I want...

[SHOOTALL]

Swampman , not really as factory ammo was used and all three were reparied at the factory and worked ( well the 357 was always iffy ) . Had a Winchester in 45 Colt that would not feed either and a 7X30 that the sights were off center . Lets face it most of the people building guns today have problems . I have had Remington guns with problems from the factory .
 When a factory is moved and new people build the guns maybe they will watch a bit closer as the guns get built .

[Swampman]

Pistol caliber Marlins will normally only feed a few types of bullets. 

[SHOOTALL]

This one wouldn't even feed 130 gr round nose winchester factory . My point is all of the companies have cut and cut to the point quality suffers . Ya'll put remington on a higher level and they continure to cheapen up things and bring in offshore product .

[Pumah25]

I have never had a Marlin feeding problem. I have them in multiple hand gun calibers and rifle calibers and they are all flawless, tight and accurate.

[hunt-m-up]

This one wouldn't even feed 130 gr round nose winchester factory . My point is all of the companies have cut and cut to the point quality suffers . Ya'll put remington on a higher level and they continure to cheapen up things and bring in offshore product .

Spot on, the Marlin plant closing is a classic case of this, the gov't regulations and taxes have made such a dent in their margins that they have to make it up somewhere. Whether it's with cheaper labor and/or cheaper parts, quality is bound to suffer.

[Dee]

I suspect the government doesn't care.

[crash87]

This one wouldn't even feed 130 gr round nose winchester factory . My point is all of the companies have cut and cut to the point quality suffers . Ya'll put remington on a higher level and they continure to cheapen up things and bring in offshore product .

Spot on, the Marlin plant closing is a classic case of this, the gov't regulations and taxes have made such a dent in their margins that they have to make it up somewhere. Whether it's with cheaper labor and/or cheaper parts, quality is bound to suffer.  

AND you can add, While the price's go UP!

I have never had a Marlin feeding problem. I have them in multiple hand gun calibers and rifle calibers and they are all flawless, tight and accurate.

I will add that My own personal 94C will feed flawlessly anything I put through it, Including a Kieth Semi-WC. Of course that was after I gave it to a gunsmith to have the chamber polished as it came from the factory unable to even chamber a finger fed empty CASE!
 YES they all have problems! Unfortunatley, as is a sign of the times, GREED seems to enter into the equation. Got to make the stockholders money, enough is never enough. The workers, no matter what demographic, are just the ones to get blamed when the product is cheapened and doesn't sell well. Come on now, any blue collar workers out there? you know which way the stuff runs!
 ADD to that an out of control state government with there ridiculous taxation. It's interesting how the same politicion's that are so adament on taxing this company out of their state, are the one now begging for it to stay, poetic justice, perhaps? YES, NOW they care about their workers, RIGHT! (November can't get here fast enough for me. 2 of my favorite things happen in Nov., Deer hunting and helping liberal whacko's lose their jobs!)

  If you think it matters where the workforce comes from, your just a little insecure and looking for a argument, as the quality is set by the decisions from the top and the tax base & incentives of the state there in.
ONE last thing, could someone tell me (swampman?) where the noth/south dividing line is for the consumers and the workforce to work and/or buy this product.  I'm interested to know where I stand?
                              CRASH87

[SHOOTALL]

least we not forget union labor rates

[Keith L]

least we not forget union labor rates

The workforce at the Marlin plant is not unionized, yet it keeps coming up in this thread.  Go figure.

[mauser98us]

Are you sure? I thought Conn. was a closed shop state.

[jcn59]

I've been thinking for some time now that the driving force for manufacturing facilities moving out of the country is our TAXES, and the excuse being labor costs is just a cheap shot at American workers. 

There is NOTHING wrong with American workers earning good wages.

As far as the south not being capable of precision machining, that's because the CNC machines they use in the north won't run right south of the Mason-Dixon line.  The moon has never been phased right down there, and it pulls the axis out of the quadrants so the machines can't cut square or to the point.   It's the extrapolegiac effect.  It causes drains to plug up more frequently, too.

IT'S A SHAME THAT ALL THE EMPLOYEES ARE CAUGHT UP IN THIS.  I hope some leave the state with the plant.

[Keith L]

Are you sure? I thought Conn. was a closed shop state.

I don't know what their state's labor laws are, but there is no state in the union that requires all workers to be in a union.  To the best of my knowledge the last unionized work force in an American gun company was at US Repeating Arms where the last Winchesters were made.  There could be others but I don't know of them.

[Swampman]

If Remington is closely involved with production the quality will get better.  That's the bottom line.

[Doublebass73]

Most of the New England states have long been very unfriendly toward businesses with all the regulations and taxes. Even New Hampshire which has long been very friendly toward businesses is changing due to the Democrats who are currently in charge. Maybe once all of the businesses have moved south they will finally grasp the concept of how dumb their policies are but I have my doubts.

Socialism understands no math or logic.

[1911crazy]

Well, Rex, what else can they do? The South is not home to too many precision manufacturing people! They have no choice but to get someone off the street. The Northeast, on the other hand, has a work force that has been building firearms, machine tools, precision measuring tools, etc. for 200+ years. A Marlin lever action is actually completely machined. Unlike the barstock Remingtons! Yes, quality will suffer for a while.

Having CNC machines makes anyone manufacture a quality product.  Soon they will figure out how to make monkeys push buttons and the'll put all of us out of business.(kidding) But we have and are losing the manufacturing generations of americans who knew how to get quality products out of ratty equipment or just make them run right.  Were losing the machinests by the thousands everyday.
Connecticut is taxing these companies while they take in big tax dollars and waste it on stupid projects that yeald nothing in the end but the companies moving out.

[jcn59]

Rule #1:  The government is not your friend.

Rule #2:  If you still think the government is your friend, go back to Rule #1.

[SHOOTALL]

Why is it when a plant closes its not their fault ?

[Keith L]

Most of the time it is, but many companies spin things to be the fault of the community, workers, suppliers, you name it. 

I spoke with my gun dealer yesterday and he said Marlin told them they were moving to the New York Remington plant because that plant had excess capacity.  No one's fault.  But what fun is that?

[quickdtoo]

Considering the money Remington has invested in renovating the Ilion facility over the last two years since moving H&R there, it makes a lot of sense.

Tim


http://www.uticaod.com/news/x1859640311/Bringing-jobs-to-Remington-a-competitive-situation

By JENNIFER BOGDAN
Observer-Dispatch
Posted Mar 31, 2010 @ 06:45 PM
ILION —

Just how likely is it that the jobs from a recently closed Connecticut firearms manufacturer owned by Remington Arms could come to the Ilion plant?

State and local officials Wednesday said it’s too early say, but some pointed to a similar plant closure that boded well for Ilion as reason to believe it could happen again.

“This is a very competitive situation,” Herkimer County IDA Executive Director Mark Feane said. “It’s safe to say it’s a similar situation, and we certainly hope the outcome will be just as good.”

On April 7, 2008, Remington announced it would close the Harrington and Richardson Firearms plant in Gardner, Mass., leaving 200 people out of work.

But by the month’s end, Remington announced a more than $11.5 million renovation project that would relocate 100 jobs from Gardner to Ilion. Empire State Development Corp. provided a $1.5 million JOBS now grant for the project.

Remington Arms Chief Marketing Officer Mark Hill said it was too early to know whether that situation would repeat itself.

“It’s safe to say we’re in the middle of negotiations,” Hill said. “When the time comes to make an announcement, we will do so, and it will be very clear.”

Last week, Marlin Firearms Co., based in North Haven, Conn., announced the plant with 265 employees will close by June 2011. Officials from Remington Arms, which acquired the North Haven company in 2007, said Marlin’s manufacturing operations would be relocated to an undetermined site.

County officials announced Tuesday they would begin conversations with Empire State Development Corporation, the county IDA and others in an effort to bring the jobs to Ilion.

Sen. James Seward, R-Milford, is aware of the Connecticut plant’s closure and has since had conversations with Remington officials about bringing those jobs to Ilion as well, Seward’s spokesman Jeff Bishop said.

“He’s reaching out to other to try to make it happen,” Bishop said. “He plans to do everything he can to bring those jobs here.”

As of December, about 900 people worked in the Ilion gun manufacturing plant, which dates back to the early 1800s.

Copyright 2010 The Observer-Dispatch. Some rights reserved

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.