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Posted on 01/29/2022 10:42:07 AM PST by Texas Fossil
While lots of calibers of ammunition are slowly returning to many store shelves, primers haven’t really reappeared in any meaningful numbers since The Time Before. The two major players in the market, Olin (Winchester) and Vista Outdoor (Remington, CCI and Federal) have maxxed out their production with most of the output going to loaded ammunition.
This seems like a very good time to add a third producer and more capacity. Good news: investors are doing just that, starting up a new company in the great state of Texas dedicated to making primers by the truckload.
This new company doesn’t appear to be vaporware. It’s very real and they have money behind them. Expansion Industries, with a hundred million in capital, has secured a location and is advertising for staff to run the production lines it has planned to open later this year. In fact, they’re holding a job fair to staff the facility at the end of this month.
Expansion purchased the old Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant located 12 miles west of Texarkana, Texas that made all sorts of things that go boom for the military from World War II through the Vietnam War.
snip
The Texarkana Gazette wrote about the new employer . . .
Expansion Industries, an ammunition manufacturing company whose corporate offices are based out of Carrollton, Texas, is preparing to open a manufacturing facility here.
They have begun preparation work on the East Campus of TexAmericas Center, purchasing the main G Line of the former Lone Star Army Ammunition plant, and have begun preparing the site for operations.
Recently, they also have begun a recruiting drive, advertising an on-site job fair they have coming up Jan. 29. They plan on employing more than 400 by 2023 and have plans beyond that.
The facility will specialize in the production of primers, a key component in ammunition manufacturing, for the small arms industry.
“We have invested $100 million into the site so far,” said Richard A. Smissen, owner, Expansion Industries. “This is all about supply and demand. There is serious demand in the industry for this product and right now, for various reasons, the supply chain is falling woefully short. So we are getting ready to do our part to help out with that issue.”
Smissen describes the new facility as state-of-the-art, featuring a high level of automation. He said the site at the former Lone Star Army Ammunition plant is uniquely situated for what they will be doing.
There you have it. Four hundred jobs expected by next year when they ramp up to full-scale production. Can we get a hallelujah?
By JULIE PARR, KTBS TV Jan 20, 2022
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Job fair today:
Oh yes please...BTT
You can be sure that rather than encouraging and assisting this much-needed new initiative, Brandon’s Administration will sic the EPA, OSHA, BATFE, IRS and as many other tentacles of the FEDGOV on the owners, in an effort to obstruct, delay, discourage and disrupt their operations.
Good luck to them. I wish them every success.
Ping
Next,they need to resurrect the lead smelter the Obama Admin killed off.
Yes, I remember they closed on in OK when I was living there. (not near it)
The Red River Arsenal is an old facility. I remember being there for a couple of weeks in the early 1970’s.
Now if they would pick up the slack for powder, business would really start booming.
This Ping List is for all things pertaining to infringes upon or victories for the 2nd Amendment.
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Thanks,
Primers are much
Welcomed!
I understand that folks can get what they want. But the hoarding is at a level that is absolutely ridiculous.
I hope they have a retail store next to the factory. It would do a lot a business.
A box of 1000 small rifle primers from CCI lists for $76, and weighs under a pound (currently out of stock).
I could see hand loaders making a pilgrimage to them and getting a trunk full for themselves and their friends.
“But the hoarding is at a level that is absolutely ridiculous.”
Opinion on what this level is varies greatly.
Remember the ammo shortage that took place under Obummer? The call for an equivalent "Civilian Army"? And the large acreage fenced-in areas?
And now, 100s of thousands of military-aged men are crossing our southern border.
Anything adding up?
Well, for me that opinion is not showing up at BassPro, with a cart, putting your arm on the shelf and dumping the contents of the shelf into your cart....Is that an exaggeration, YES.... a little bit.
I know most stores are rationing all this stuff and I know the ammo manufacturers are buying up most of it.
But there are also the types out there that think there is going to be war in the streets and they’ll be like, Benjamin Martin, running around.
Issue with that is....the very large majority of the people that think that, the ones with stickers all over their cars, are under the impression that a civil war is going to break out, but they’ll still live their lives as they are. They think they’ll be able to tell their buddy.....Uhhhh, yeah, I can be here tomorrow and Thursday from 5-8 and Saturday, right after my daughters softball game.
And if they think that BLM is going to start roving through neighborhoods, doing home invasions, etc etc etc, they’re believing the wrong person.
I’m not saying that they shouldn’t be prepared for something to happen to them. But having a stockpile of 10-15,000 primers and counting, of various sizes, is a bit ridiculous.
The OP article mentions that part of the manufacturing will make use of the existing “hardened” infrastructure. I've been around hardened infrastructure around certain hazardous industrial equipment but hardening around these old military munition plants is off the charts.
One of the old munitions manufacturing sites I did some things at has been in continuous operation since WW2 making munitions of the same general type. The manufacturing trains and the storage areas are in long, narrow buildings divided into about 20x20ft rooms with doors opening into a wide hallway running the length of the building.
Each manufacturing room has equipment doing one step of the process. Small openings between adjacent rooms pass the pass the munition from room to room via a blast lock such that the rooms are never directly connected by an opening. Walls, ceilings and floors are several feet thick reinforced concrete. Doors to the hallway and to the wall locks are several inch thick of armor grade steel and had a small glass viewing port as thick as the steel door. Equipment now is fully automated and remotely observed by CCTV.
Back in the day, a handful of workers would be in each bay operating the equipment. What was different from my industrial experience is that the manufacturing bays were designed to contain an explosion instead of directing one towards safe direction. In addition, each bay was originally and still is connected to a water deluge system that will fill a bay floor to ceiling in seconds. Refer back to the top where I mentioned that originally, the bays were each staffed with several workers - No escape from fire, explosion or drowning.
I don’t know anything about the company, but this is certainly needed. Not sure who is baking it, but want it to take off an become a huge thing.
If it does, it will rapidly change the availability of ammunition. Primers are the missing component in the ammo supply.
Fed Gov has by rule making only allowed foreign primers into the USA for manufacturers. Nothing for those who reload ammo.
My father in law, was a division manager at Pantex. I took him for his last visit in Oct 2009. He died in December 2009.
They once had an incident of an explosion in a bay, caused by cutting shaped charges. Operator error. He violated cut rate, was angry. Lives were lost.
The going scalper price for primers is now $130-$225, plus shipping and haz charges, per box of 1,000.
Reality? The manufacturers hate those who reload and the government wants us all disarmed.
Yes. It is.
my stock is in long term food storage, antibiotics, liquor,. Its all lighter then ammo and ammo wont save your life if a cut or scrap gets infected. Ill trade you a bandage with triple antibiotic on it for a box of .223, 9mm, 40 cal,
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