New US primer making coming soon...

Don't know whether this has been reported already...did a search and didn't see any discussion of it...but a new company is almost ready to supply primers to the American market. This has to be good news to reloaders.

https://onlygunsandmoney.com/2022/01/23/new-us-primer-manufacturer-coming.html?fbclid=IwAR1BvEQtEQLVsYdvfwrogWAnP3z4GMmp-dOJ-j7gS9JwLcJSebhrmNcfeiI

I saw a post about this on gun boards and I saw some news articles earlier this morning


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"Until now, only two companies controlled the market for primers in the United States. Olin Corporation through their ownership of Winchester and Vista Outdoor with their ownership of Federal, Remington Ammunition, and CCI. A third manufacturer intends to to begin producing by 2023."

Hopefully, the supply will catch up to the demand by next year or earlier. I remember scoring a case of remington primers for .05 cpr back when the remington factory just opened up, but that was just a once and done type of deal. I'm modestly stocked up on rifle primers, but i'm always running low on pistol primers. Those pistol primers run dry fast.

I can only hope that the shortage collusion between Olin and Vista is not extended to the new Mfr.

I find it "really" odd that after blaming existing ammo contracts for drying up the component market, that Remington comes back from Chapter 11
with no ammo contracts, but we've yet to see any Remington components hit the market..

85MikeTPI said:

I can only hope that the shortage collusion between Olin and Vista is not extended to the new Mfr.

I find it "really" odd that after blaming existing ammo contracts for drying up the component market, that Remington comes back from Chapter 11
with no ammo contracts, but we've yet to see any Remington components hit the market..

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I’m not surprised, Vista is probably swallowing up all the components for their production. I recall a letter from Vista stating that they wouldn’t be selling primers in 2022, now that they own Remington I wouldn’t expect to see anything differently.

Sig is also standing up a primer manufacturing facility. I expect the primer situation in 2023 will be a lot better between these entrants and imports.

Expansion Industries to Open New Primer Facility


Even as supplies of ammunition have returned to store shelves, shooters are facing prices far higher than pre-pandemic levels. One challenge has been the ongoing global supply chain bottlenecks, which have made it difficult for ammunition manufacturers to run production at full capacity. Between a shortage of truck drivers, backlogs at our nation’s ports, and increased demand for raw materials — notably copper — ammunition makers continue to be pressed by supply chain woes.

The increase in the number of new gun owners has further exacerbated the problem, while early winter storms have also helped. More shooters resulted in greater demand for ammunition, and 2020-2021 vastly outpaced the previous year’s sales.

Yet, there is another factor to consider. Only two companies produce the primers, a key component in modern ammunition: Winchester, which is owned by the Olin Corporation, and Vista Outdoors, which is the owner of Federal, Remington Ammunition, and CCI. Each has done everything in its respective power to keep the production flowing, but it is easy to see how having just two players in such a volatile market was really a recipe for disaster.
ammunition primers

Brass can be reused and powder has remained reasonably plentiful, yet primers have been the weak line in the supply chain, creating a serious bottleneck for the industry — which in turn has been impacted further by the larger supply chain bottlenecks. Millions upon millions are produced, but all by those four entities owned by two corporate giants in the United States.

Internationally, primers are manufactured by several firms in different parts of the world, including Armscor in the Philippines, Fiocchi in Italy, and Sellier & Bellot in the Czech Republic. In normal times, those international primers could be used to help meet the demand in the U.S. Of course we’re not living in normal times, and the pandemic slowed how goods moved around the world in 2020, while supply bottlenecks ground supply chains to a halt in 2021.
Three is NOT a Crowd

Fortunately, a third player is set to enter the American primer market. Expansion Industries, the parent company of Expansion Ammunition, announced earlier this month that it will open a new facility outside of Texarkana, Texas. If the name doesn’t ring a bell, don’t feel bad.

The company, which is headquartered in Carrollton, Texas, outside of Dallas-Fort Worth, was only launched during the last great ammunition shortage in the “middle 2010s” as an effort to ensure that every American could maintain the right to keep and bear arms. Now as the country continues to experience the worst supply chain bottleneck in decades, which has impacted the availability of firearms ammunition, the Texas-based firm is living up to its name as it begins a major “expansion.”

Expansion Industries has invested $100 million and has recently begun preparation work on the East Campus of TexAmericas Center, which included the purchase of the main G Line of the former Lone Star Army Ammunition plant. That facility, which once produced ordnance for the U.S. military, is being prepared to resume operations later this year.
It will specialize in the production of primers

“We have invested $100 million into the site so far,” Richard A. Smissen, owner of Expansion Industries, told the Texarkana Gazette newspaper. “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.”

Despite being a smaller player in the industry, Smissen has said the new facility will be state-of-the-art, featuring a high level of automation. The former Lone Star Army Ammunition plant was reported to be uniquely situated for Expansion Ammunition’s future endeavors.

“The manufacturing facilities at Lone Star were set up for ammunition manufacturing,” added Smissen. “Not only the way the facilities are laid out on the former base, but the facilities themselves are hardened to protect against possible accidents working with this material. What is here was ready for someone like us to come and set up shop. So we’ve had our people in there getting it ready for a modern manufacturing facility. We aim to be up and running in the first few months of this year.”

Expansion Industries has also begun a recruiting drive that will include an on-site job fair later this month, and it has set a goal to have more than 400 workers employed at the plant by 2023.
Former Military Ammunition Plant

The Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant, which is located 12 miles west of Texarkana, should be seen as an ideal location for the manufacture of primers. The 15,546-acre facility was originally established in 1942 as a government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO) plant to meet the demands of the war effort. The Lone Star Defense
Corporation, a subsidiary of the B. F. Goodrich Rubber Corporation, had won the government contract to operate the site in July 1941, and during the Second World War, it produced artillery shells, bombs, fuses, boosters, and other auxiliary munitions at the site.

The plant was one of 84 Army ammunition plants constructed during World War II, and at the height of its employment, the plant had more than 12,000 contractors, military, and government personnel. It continued to produce ordnance through the Korean War and Vietnam War and was only officially deactivated on September 30, 2009.

While Expansion Ammunition will be utilizing the G Line of the facility, it would seem there is certainly room for expansion within the facility. In addition, it would seem that the plant already has many safety and environmental measures in place as it has only been shuttered for the past decade.

The plant that was built to supply the G.I.s in World War II and beyond could soon be helping address the great ammunition shortage. Having a fifth company, and one that isn’t owned by the two corporate giants, producing primers should also make sure that even if gun sales spike, the supply of ammo should be able to keep pace.
Keeping Americans shooting has been the goal of Expansion Ammunition.

“Every box of our ammunition, we make it clear it is about freedom,” Smissen continued. “The first 10 Amendments of our Constitution lay it all out, our liberties. And the 2nd Amendment is about the freedom of an American to be armed, to defend against any who would seek to take away that freedom. And should our 2nd Amendment fall, there is nothing to prevent the rest of it from being taken. We are a faith-based company and we make that clear. We are doing what we can to take a stand for American freedoms, support shooting sports and with this facility, we will be taking it all to the next level.”

I think the real question is "who gave these guys $100m?" Because there's no obvious reason they should have anything resembling that money. I'm not saying it's a scam, but something is fishy here.

erwos said:

I think the real question is "who gave these guys $100m?" Because there's no obvious reason they should have anything resembling that money. I'm not saying it's a scam, but something is fishy here.

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It could be a program similar to the Civilian Reserve Air Fleet program of the sixties and seventies. The fronted cash to participating airlines with the caveat that, if needed for a National emergency, they would revert to Government operations.

Perhaps it is a Munitions Reserve Program in which the government gives money to an operator and requires X amount of product for the Government.

This would make sense though.

John from MD said:

It could be a program similar to the Civilian Reserve Air Fleet program of the sixties and seventies. The fronted cash to participating airlines with the caveat that, if needed for a National emergency, they would revert to Government operations.

Perhaps it is a Munitions Reserve Program in which the government gives money to an operator and requires X amount of product for the Government.

This would make sense though.

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There are no such programs. Where did these guys get their money?

It looks like there was an attempt at some point to start some sort of investment fund, but they got in some trouble with the state of VA:
https://scc.virginia.gov/docketsearch/DOCS/3f7h01!.PDF
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1685713/000168571317000002/xslFormDX01/primary_doc.xml

erwos said:

I think the real question is "who gave these guys $100m?" Because there's no obvious reason they should have anything resembling that money. I'm not saying it's a scam, but something is fishy here.

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I lent it to them. 8% interest.

Ammo Jon said:

I lent it to them. 8% interest.

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Sadly, this would be a better explanation than any I've heard so far. Like, how does an ammo producer no one's ever heard of get their hands on $100m? Or even $30m?

They held a job fair this weekend…

https://kkyr.com/new-ammunition-manufacturing-company-coming-to-texarkana-area/

erwos said:

Sadly, this would be a better explanation than any I've heard so far. Like, how does an ammo producer no one's ever heard of get their hands on $100m? Or even $30m?

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Lots and lots of investment money out there. Multiple billions would surprise me. $100 million? Not really.

Hell the business plan could even be spin it up with lots of tax grants and deferred tax deals with the state/locals and sell it off to recoup the investments to someone like Vista.

lazarus said:

Lots and lots of investment money out there. Multiple billions would surprise me. $100 million? Not really.

Hell the business plan could even be spin it up with lots of tax grants and deferred tax deals with the state/locals and sell it off to recoup the investments to someone like Vista.

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Zero record online of ANYTHING is what's making me think something's not on the up and up. Taking a ton of money from people tends to leave a trail of some sort.

I figure, it’s not my money building it (direct, investment or tax dollars). Hopefully it is on the up and up. I’ll wait awhile to hear reviews on the primers first…

But I am willing to be hopeful.

As with everything on the news this year, it's the Russians..

erwos said:

Zero record online of ANYTHING is what's making me think something's not on the up and up. Taking a ton of money from people tends to leave a trail of some sort.

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Not when it is provided by well healed venture capitalists looking for a better than average return.

It does no good to open new plants when you cannot get raw materials to produce your product. I wonder why China is hording copper? OH yeah...ammo..

https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/china-food-hoarding-newmax/2022/01/10/id/1051733/