Remington Arms moving 2,000+ jobs from NY to Alabama

[Guest TresOsos]

If this is true.....that's great news for the South, to bad it's not coming to TN. Buying from an AL company is better than buying from a NY company any day of the week. And this just continues to strengthen Southern manufacturing which is great.

 

http://yellowhammernews.com/nationalpolitics/remington-arms-moving-1200-jobs-ny-alabama/

 

High level sources have informed Yellowhammer News that Remington, one of the world’s largest gun manufacturers, will on Monday join Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley in announcing that they are bringing over 2,000 jobs to Alabama.

The company is viewing the move into Alabama as an expansion, but it will likely impact their Ilion, NY plant as well. The New York facility currently employees around 1,200 people. It is expected to stay open, but with a reduced workforce.

Edited February 15, 2014 by TresOsos

[Hershmeister]

Bummer - would have LOVED to see them land in TN, but I suppose Somewhere in Dixie is better than not at all.

[hipower]

Absolutely great news. Another nail in the coffin for Bloombergs' control issues.

[bersaguy]

Well all I can say is New York and Bloomberg picked this fight and looks like the only winner in this fight is the South....................jmho

[Raoul]

Here's some corroboration

 

http://blog.al.com/breaking/2014/02/report_firearms_manufacturer_r.html

[Oh Shoot]

Remington is not putting all its eggs in one basket, even in the South - NC, KY, AR, GA, AL.

 

- OS

[Randall53]

Remington is not putting all its eggs in one basket, even in the South - NC, KY, AR, GA, AL.
 
- OS

Smart move actually...who knows what the future holds for even the southern states.

[Garufa]

...who knows what the future holds for even the southern states.

 

I've got a pretty good idea of what the future holds for the South and I don't like it one bit.

[Guest Lowbuster]

I've got a pretty good idea of what the future holds for the South and I don't like it one bit.

I don't think the future is safe for just about everyone.

[Guest TankerHC]

On my phone waiting on pizza or i would check. The former ceo of cerberus capital said back in January 2013 that he was looking for backers to buy Remington. There was talk he was going to buy Remington and move it. Someone want to check and see if he bought it? If so that would almost certainly confirm this story.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2

[Oh Shoot]

On my phone waiting on pizza or i would check. The former ceo of cerberus capital said back in January 2013 that he was looking for backers to buy Remington. There was talk he was going to buy Remington and move it. Someone want to check and see if he bought it? If so that would almost certainly confirm this story.

 

Cerberus made announcement was looking for buyer for entire Freedom Group shortly after Sandy Hook in 2012, but never heard anything going to fruition about that, and is mentioned at least in Wiki that as of last of 2013 had not done so.

 

My guess, Freedom Group making beau coup bucks, and Cerberus has let whole thing slide once press calmed down.

 

- OS

Edited February 16, 2014 by Oh Shoot

[Caster]

Fingers crossed some good ole southern pride will produce a better product than a bunch of damn yanks. God knows Remington and Marlin both need some new life in their products as of late.

[Guest TankerHC]

Oh shoot, Cerberus was going to sell off Freedom Group altogether or in pieces. The former CEO of Cerberus is a shooter, he didnt want Freedom Group. He and Tauras were vying for Remington, not Freedom Group, although it was suspected that Tauras might make a move on Freedom Group. Cerberus former CEO stated all he wanted was Remington. And he was having a hard time finding backers, this was January of last year. 

 

I called Cerberus and spoke to them about it in February. The lady who I spoke with stated that it wasn't a matter of selling off Freedom Group or just individual companies. The issue was that Cerberus is an investment firm and a large part of their investors, especially one teachers Union, were going to pull. So, it was either lose Freedom Group or lose multi billion dollar accounts, and their job is to make money. She also told me all of their Corporate Officers were shooters and Hunters, not that that means anything.  

 

The ONLY reason the former CEO doesnt already own it, if he doesn't I haven't checked, is because of lack of funding. Freedom would have been split up. 

Edited February 16, 2014 by TankerHC

[Oh Shoot]

Oh shoot, Cerberus was going to sell off Freedom Group altogether or in pieces. The former CEO of Cerberus is a shooter, he didnt want Freedom Group. He and Tauras were vying for Remington, not Freedom Group, although it was suspected that Tauras might make a move on Freedom Group. Cerberus former CEO stated all he wanted was Remington. And he was having a hard time finding backers, this was January of last year. 

 

I called Cerberus and spoke to them about it in February. The lady who I spoke with stated that it wasn't a matter of selling off Freedom Group or just individual companies. The issue was that Cerberus is an investment firm and a large part of their investors, especially one teachers Union, were going to pull. So, it was either lose Freedom Group or lose multi billion dollar accounts, and their job is to make money. She also told me all of their Corporate Officers were shooters and Hunters, not that that means anything.  

 

The ONLY reason the former CEO doesnt already own it, if he doesn't I haven't checked, is because of lack of funding. Freedom would have been split up. 

 

Yeah, I've read all the various iterations over the last year, but fact seems to be that not one company has been sold out of Freedom Group, let alone the whole conglomerate, so we can only guess at the real reasons at this point. But as always, follow the money -- the teachers union thing may have proved to simply be a canard, for example, and not as important to the bottom line as other considerations, or the union didn't have the power to decide the investment strategy of their pension investments , or whatever.

 

- OS

Edited February 16, 2014 by Oh Shoot

[runco]

I would recommending checking these links Monday, 2/17/2014:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remington_Arms

 

http://www.remington.com/pages/news-and-resources/press-releases.aspx

[Guest TankerHC]

Update, yes Freedom Group was sold. George Kallitides was the former CEO, he did buy it out. It is no longer Freedom Group, it is Remington Outdoor Group and just this past December Kallitides started buying out Cerebrus. Bought 175 million in shares on December 23rd alone. Illion NY apparently thought they would be out of business when Kallitides started buying out the company.

 

Christmas has come early in Ilion, New York, site of America’s oldest factory still making its original product—guns. George Kollitides, chairman and CEO of Remington Outdoor Company, Inc., (ROC), a group formerly known as Freedom Group, Inc., sent his employees a memo to let them know they’re buying out unhappy stockholders instead of selling ROC under political duress. 

 

I did a lot of research on Kallitides to see if he was buying to sell it off in pieces, which was the rumor (Which is also why I called Cerebrus). He and his family are from New York, long time immigrants and business owners, take a look at his PAC and donation filings on the House .gov sites, all but one, Democrats.  

 

(Computer rebooted, didnt get to finish). Apparently there has not been an official Freedom Group since prior to this past December.  And it is no surprise now that they are moving to Alabama, Illion should have seen that coming with Kallitides doing what he said he was going to do, changing the name and keeping Remington Outdoor in North Carolina.

 

And although Kallitides donated to mostly Democrats. He is a New Yorker in New York. One of the money mags (Forbes, Money one of them) did an article on him last year around june or July called "The most unlikely Firearms Manufacture Owner" or something like that.

 

This move is not for love of guns, it is because Kallitides grandfather is an immigrant (From Crete as I recall but not definitely) and worked hard to continue building their businesses (They were already rich Greeks before they ever came here). He is doing it for the employees and the business and as I also recall, to improve Remington Quality, and keep an American iconic business...in business.  

Edited February 16, 2014 by TankerHC

[DaveTN]

http://blog.al.com/breaking/2014/02/report_firearms_manufacturer_r.html#incart_2box

Dang man, Huntsville is the aerospace capitol except for Washington State (I work in aerospace right now) and now they may have Remington (My favorite rifle). And I’m stuck in Murfreesboro. This is good news for Alabama (if true) but pizzes me off as much as when Murfreesboro missed getting Harley Davidson.

[Oh Shoot]

Update, yes Freedom Group was sold. George Kallitides was the former CEO, he did buy it out. ...

 

Apparently I'm reading the same Forbes article you are?:

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/frankminiter/2013/12/19/christmas-comes-early-in-ilion-new-york-remington-outdoor-company-avoids-a-political-fire-sale/

 

Kollitides was already CEO of Freedom Group since March of 2012, while also serving as CEO of ROC, which was also already in existence. His profile:

 

http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=73765&privcapId=4264542
 

All very confusing, but it seems Cerberus still owns a controlling interest in Freedom/ROC? At any rate, seems all the companies involved will keep cranking as before, so that's good.

 

- OS

[Guest TankerHC]

Apparently I'm reading the same Forbes article you are?:

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/frankminiter/2013/12/19/christmas-comes-early-in-ilion-new-york-remington-outdoor-company-avoids-a-political-fire-sale/

 

Kollitides was already CEO of Freedom Group since March of 2012, while also serving as CEO of ROC, which was also already in existence. His profile:

 

http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=73765&privcapId=4264542
 

All very confusing, but it seems Cerberus still owns a controlling interest in Freedom/ROC? At any rate, seems all the companies involved will keep cranking as before, so that's good.

 

- OS

 

You are correct about that. But when Forbes (Or money, or whoever it was) published the article on Kollitides and his family early last year, he was already majority holder in several gun companies and was looking to pick up Remington. I actually read two articles on him. One was disparaging. It said he was trying to form an Investment Group to buy something no one wanted, had been running around begging for money.

 

The other one, which was a long article, made it clear, he could buy the entire group outright if he wanted to. This guy is loaded. He was trying to form an investment group to buy Freedom. As the article mentioned, it had really nothing to do with gun in and of themselves, but of keeping an iconic company where it belongs, here..and making a lot of money doing it. 

 

I have been reading for the last couple of hours. It clear to see whats happening with Remington Outdoors. Did you see the amount his investors invested? Very little considering how much Bloomberg values Remington Group at.

 

I took a look at the Freedom Group 4th Quarter report. Here is why they are selling. (I am posting the reasons at the bottom) but here is one reason that has come up on this and other forums over and over.

 

"• The development of rural property in many locations has curtailed or eliminated access to private and public lands previously available for hunting, and the continuation of the development of rural property could materially adversely affect our industry as well as our business and results of operations. "

 

The rest are of course legitimate concerns, see bottom. According to Businessweek, since Remington is not publicly traded considerations began in 2012 right after Sandy Hook. Recapitalization, offer a limited IPO, or sell it off. No one wanted it but Kaliitides. And since he didnt come up with enough Investment in his group (25 million here and 30 million there), Kallitides is buying up all of the Privately held (Cerberus) shares and taking on 200 million in debt. 

 

Kallitides (Kalottides or whatever) is doing exactly what he said he would do over a year ago. Buying up the company if his investment group could not come up with all of the funds at once. he didnt just become CEO, he is also a previous CEO according to the Financial mags. He is the CEO again, because he is buying up the company. 

 

Here is the part from Cerberus quarterly report from last September. Couple of those reasons seem like Obama could literally wipe out every Firearms manufacturer with the "stroke of a pen and a telephone call" through more regulation like he is trying to do with the Coal industry. Seems Freedom was teetering. 

 

 

 

The degree to which we are leveraged could have important consequences, all of which could 

materially adversely affect our business, including the following: (i) our ability to obtain 

additional financing for working capital or other purposes in the future may be limited; (ii) a 

substantial portion of our cash flow from operations is dedicated to the payment of principal 

and interest on our indebtedness, thereby reducing funds available for operations; (iii) certain 

of our borrowings are at variable rates of interest, which could cause us to be vulnerable to 

increases in interest rates; and (iv) we may be more vulnerable to economic downturns and be 

limited in our ability to withstand competitive pressures. 

 

• The development of rural property in many locations has curtailed or eliminated access to 

private and public lands previously available for hunting, and the continuation of the 

development of rural property could materially adversely affect our industry as well as our 

business and results of operations. 

 

• A significant portion of our sales are seasonal. As a result of the seasonal nature of our sales, 

our historical working capital financing needs generally have exceeded cash provided by 

operations during certain parts of the year. Our ability to meet our debt service and other 

obligations depends in significant part on customers purchasing our products during the fall 

hunting season. A decrease in demand during the fall hunting season for our higher priced, 

higher margin products would require us to reduce costs or increase our reliance on borrowings 

under our credit facility to fund operations. If we are unable to reduce costs or increase our 

borrowings sufficiently to adjust to such a reduction in demand, our financial condition and 

results of operations could be adversely affected. 

 

• Lead, copper, steel, brass and zinc prices historically have experienced significant increases 

and volatility primarily due to increased global demand. Furthermore, fuel and energy costs 

have increased and have remained volatile over the same time period, although at a slower rate 

of increase. We currently purchase copper and lead commodity swap contracts to hedge against 

price fluctuations of anticipated commodity purchases. With the volatility of pricing that we 

have recently experienced, there can be no assurance that we will not see further material 

adverse changes in commodity pricing or energy costs, and such further changes, were they to 

occur, could have a material adverse impact on our consolidated financial position, results of 

operations, or cash flows. 

 

• We utilize numerous raw materials, including steel, zinc, lead, copper, brass, plastics, 

gunpowder, and wood, as well as manufactured parts, which are purchased from one or a few 

suppliers. Any disruption in our relationship with these suppliers could increase our cost of 

operations. 

 

• Achieving the benefits of our acquisitions will depend in part on the integration of products 

and internal operating systems in a timely and efficient manner. Such integration may be 

unpredictable, and subject to delay because the products and systems typically were developed 

independently and were designed without regard to such integration. If we cannot successfully integrate such products and internal operating systems on a timely basis, we may lose 

customers and our business and results of operations may be harmed.

 

• We face significant domestic and international competition and our competitors vary according 

to product line. Certain of these competitors are subsidiaries of large corporations with 

substantially greater financial resources than we have. There can be no assurance that we will 

continue to compete effectively with all of our present competition, and our ability to so 

compete could be adversely affected by our leveraged condition. 

 

• The manufacture, sale and purchase of firearms and ammunition are subject to extensive 

governmental regulation on the federal, state and local levels. Changes in regulation could 

materially adversely affect our business by restricting the types of products we manufacture or 

sell or by imposing additional costs on us or our customers in connection with the manufacture 

or sale of our products. Regulatory proposals, even if never enacted, may affect firearms or 

ammunition sales as a result of consumer perceptions. While we do not believe that existing 

federal and state legislation relating to the regulation of firearms and ammunition will have a 

material adverse effect on our sales, no assurance can be given that more restrictive 

regulations, if proposed or enacted, will not have a material adverse effect on us in the future. 

 

• As a manufacturer of firearms, we were previously named as a defendant in certain lawsuits 

brought by municipalities or organizations challenging manufacturers’ distribution practices 

and alleging that the defendants have also failed to include a variety of safety devices in their 

firearms. Our insurance primarily excludes coverage regarding such claims. In the event that 

additional such lawsuits are filed, or if certain legal theories advanced by plaintiffs are 

generally accepted by the courts, our financial condition and results of operations could be 

adversely affected. 

 

• Unfavorable publicity or public perception of the firearms industry could adversely impact our 

operating results and reputation. 

[Guest theconstitutionrocks]

As I said before, I would love to see the major weapon and ammo producers tell the NY state govt they won't sell to them (I think a few may already have done so)

[Dustbuster]

If this is true.....that's great news for the South, to bad it's not coming to TN. Buying from an AL company is better than buying from a NY company any day of the week. And this just continues to strengthen Southern manufacturing which is great.

http://yellowhammernews.com/nationalpolitics/remington-arms-moving-1200-jobs-ny-alabama/

High level sources have informed Yellowhammer News that Remington, one of the world’s largest gun manufacturers, will on Monday join Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley in announcing that they are bringing over 2,000 jobs to Alabama.
The company is viewing the move into Alabama as an expansion, but it will likely impact their Ilion, NY plant as well. The New York facility currently employees around 1,200 people. It is expected to stay open, but with a reduced workforce.

Hopefully they'll close for a one month retool, and ship the plant goods to AL while the employees are off. Once the employees come back the reduced labor will consist of 1 guard at the shack passing out pink slips. Hopefully the angry mob aka ex Remington employees,will head towards bloombergs place and defecate all over his lawn in protest.

I hope wherever they move to in Alabama they hire mostly all locals as we saw what Saturn did to folks in Maury county...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 of course it ate my spelling.

[DaveTN]

Hopefully they'll close for a one month retool, and ship the plant goods to AL while the employees are off. Once the employees come back the reduced labor will consist of 1 guard at the shack passing out pink slips. Hopefully the angry mob aka ex Remington employees,will head towards bloombergs place and defecate all over his lawn in protest.

I hope wherever they move to in Alabama they hire mostly all locals as we saw what Saturn did to folks in Maury county...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 of course it ate my spelling.

Moving that plant will be a massive undertaking; I doubt it will happen quick.
I love Remington products and own them. I think they make the best bolt actions rifles in the world and their user lists prove it. But I would be disappointed if they turned their backs on the employees who have made them what they are today. I know a lot of them won’t want to make the move, but I would think they would want to keep as many of their good people as they could. Their employees didn’t cause the problems they have.

[mikegideon]

Moving that plant will be a massive undertaking; I doubt it will happen quick.
I love Remington products and own them. I think they make the best bolt actions rifles in the world and their user lists prove it. But I would be disappointed if they turned their backs on the employees who have made them what they are today. I know a lot of them won’t want to make the move, but I would think they would want to keep as many of their good people as they could. Their employees didn’t cause the problems they have.

 

It's an expansion, not a move. That gives them lots of flexibility. And you gotta figure too, these manufacturers shop several different states so they can get the best deal to offset capital. Picking up and moving a plant, complete with lapses in production is a whole nuther animal. The little guys are doing it in some cases, but not the big boys.

 

From what I've read, they're opening this new plant in Hunstville. That means there's a local pool of engineers and top notch machinists that you don't find in most places. I'm going to guess that Remington knows what they're doing, and will pull it off without even getting bruised. When it comes to the folks left in NY, it won't be the first time a bunch of liberal politicians killed a bunch of jobs. I remember the mass exodus out of Michigan in the late '70's. The smart ones left.

[Dustbuster]

Moving that plant will be a massive undertaking; I doubt it will happen quick.
I love Remington products and own them. I think they make the best bolt actions rifles in the world and their user lists prove it. But I would be disappointed if they turned their backs on the employees who have made them what they are today. I know a lot of them won’t want to make the move, but I would think they would want to keep as many of their good people as they could. Their employees didn’t cause the problems they have.

I know,wishful thinking...9





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 of course it ate my spelling.

[runco]

I would recommending checking these links Monday, 2/17/2014:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remington_Arms

 

http://www.remington.com/pages/news-and-resources/press-releases.aspx

At least one of my links worked.  They do indeed have an official press release, the 2nd link.  Wikipedia has not been updated, whats up with that!

Edited February 18, 2014 by Runco