By Brice Wallace
A Nevada-based firearms and ammunition maker will move some manufacturing to Cedar City, saying Utah is “friendlier” than the city of Pahrump and the state of Nevada.
More specifically, an official at the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) said Utah is “typically more friendly to their type of manufacturing than other states in the surrounding area.”
Armscor Precision International said the new project will result in 88 high-paying jobs over six years in Cedar City.
The company’s roots are in the Philippines and it has had operations in Nevada for 22 years. Pahrump is in southern Nevada, west of Las Vegas.
“Things have changed since then,” Martin Tuason, president and CEO of both the global company and Armscor Precision International, its main U.S. company, told the GOED board at its May meeting. The board approved a tax credit incentive of about $344,408 over six years to land the project.
“We thought we were going to make a home in Pahrump. We bought lots of land, put up lots of buildings. We’re almost at 100 employees there. Our project with Nevada Gun Works, which will be called Rock Island Manufacturing USA, has been on a stall because the city of Pahrump is not as friendly as you guys, [and] the state of Nevada is not as friendly as you guys.”
Nevada lawmakers recently amended a gun violence prevention package that Democrats hoped to pass this legislative session, according to the Associated Press. It removed provisions that would have increased penalties for people who bring firearms to certain locations where they’re banned.
Assemblywoman Sandra Jauregui, a Democrat who survived the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, said she remains committed to passing gun laws to make Nevada safer in every legislative session, the AP reported.
Legislation in 2019 expanded background checks for private firearm sales and transfers by banning homemade guns without serial numbers. Jauregui initially pushed for a law making it a criminal trespassing charge to bring firearms onto properties such as the Las Vegas Strip’s largest casinos and resorts.
In contrast to the trends in Nevada, some Utah lawmakers have pushed to have Utah become a “Second Amendment sanctuary state.” Gov. Spencer Cox said the issue requires more time, thought, dialogue and input and therefore did not include it in his list of subjects for last week's special session of the Legislature. However, legislators passed a nonbinding resolution encouraging the state to pursue sanctuary state status.
Tuason said Armscor considered Tennesee, North Carolina, Texas and Florida for the expansion project and said the Cedar City project could grow to up to 200 jobs. Most of the jobs will be machinists, CNC technicians and robotics technicians.
“We see Utah as the most viable option for our company to grow,” he said. “We would like to tap the colleges, basically, and get qualified people to come in. Everything that we’re going to do is high-technology manufacturing, but we want to grow our manufacturing base.”
Even with the Cedar City operations, the company will continue manufacturing in the Philippines and elsewhere. “But for the United States, which is our largest market, protected by the Second Amendment, we see only growth for us for the next 10, 20 years, and possibly going public at some point in time in the United States,” he said.
The $40 million project is projected to have total wages of nearly $9.7 million over six years and new state tax revenue of more than $1.7 million during that time. The 88 jobs will pay an average wage of $81,750.
“We are absolutely thrilled with this company, with their product and what they do and are really looking forward to the future and having them as another great community partner,” Cedar City Mayor Maile Wilson told the GOED board.
Danny Stewart, economic development director for Cedar City, said Armscor “is just such a nice fit for Cedar City.” His team helped link company officials with representatives of Southwest Technical College and Southern Utah University, he said, adding that the area offers workforce training specific to the type of work Armscor will be doing.
“It’s a good size for us, a great company — overall, a great fit here,” Stewart said. “It makes a lot of sense to have this company here in Cedar City.”
“We welcome Armscor to Cedar City, and we’re glad they decided to grow in one of our rural cities,” Dan Hemmert, GOED’s executive director, said in a prepared statement. “With this growth, Armscor will be able to provide jobs for our Iron County residents and support local suppliers around the area.”
“Armscor will add to the diversity of Iron County’s manufacturing economy and to the state’s outdoor products industry,” said Theresa A. Foxley, president and CEO of the Economic Development Corporation of Utah. “The company will find Cedar City’s workforce and logistical infrastructure to be true assets.”
Armscor USA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Armscor Global Defense Inc., formerly known as Arms Corporation of the Philippines. It is a firearms and ammunition manufacturer, importer/exporter and distributor operating the Armscor and Rock Island Armory brands. Armscor USA consists of five companies: Armscor Precision International, Advanced Tactical Firearms International Co., Armscor Cartridge Inc., AdvancedTactical.com and Nevada Gun Works. Some of Armscor’s customers include Sportsman’s Warehouse, C-A-L Ranch, and Rural King.
The company’s roots date to 1905 when the first Squires, Bingham & Co. headquarters was established in the Philippines. The company was eventually bought and renamed Sportsmen’s Headquarters in 1930. Don Celso Tuason bought the company at the start of WWII and the company was renamed in 1952 as Squires Bingham Manufacturing Inc. The Armscor brand was created in 1980 after Squires Bingham Manufacturing was reorganized and renamed Arms Corporation of the Philippines.
Armscor Precision International opened its first U.S. office in 1985 in Pahrump. Armscor later acquired the Rock Island Armory brand, a leading M1911 manufacturer and developer.
