By Matthew Rocco – Published February 19, 2014 – FOXBusiness
In the wake of new regulations in their northern home states, gun makers are going to the Carolinas, Alabama and other areas in the South for a place to open up shop.
Legislators in some states pushed for bans on the type of rifle used in the Newtown, Conn., school shooting in December 2012. New York and Maryland each passed laws that prohibit certain types of semi-automatic rifles and capped the size of magazines, while Connecticut also restricted the number of rounds for a single magazine.
All three of those states are home to familiar names in the gun industry, some of which threatened to seek out expansion opportunities in other states or move their operations entirely.
Remington Outdoor, the parent company of Marlin, Bushmaster and other brands, is the latest to announce an expansion down South. Its flagship brand, Remington, is the oldest gun maker in the U.S. and has a manufacturing base in Ilion, N.Y.
Earlier this week, the company formerly known as Freedom Group detailed plans to open a plant in Huntsville, Ala. Remington Outdoor expects to create more than 2,000 jobs in Huntsville over the next decade to meet growing demand for its products.
Chairman and chief executive George Kollitides said demand for Remington Outdoor’s products is at a “historic high.” The Madison, N.C.,-based company, which has 19 locations in the U.S., plans to be up and running in Alabama within 18 months. Its total workforce had grown to 4,200 employees by the end of 2013, compared to 2,400 in 2008.