Kash CA, the parent company of Freedom Munitions, has broken ground on a new facility in Lewiston, ID, to expand Freedom’s line of rifle ammunition. The 10,000-square-foot building will provide the company more capacity to manufacture cases and projectiles for a wide array of calibers ranging from .223 Rem. to .30-'06 Sprg.
“Kash CA is utilizing our already vast technical expertise to expand into a new line of rifle cartridge cases and projectiles to be able to produce a broader range of top-quality ammunition,” said Daniel Kash, president of Kash CA. “As manufacturers continue to struggle with shortages on raw goods, particularly for us—brass cases—we decided to better control the situation by making Freedom Munitions fully capable of manufacturing these items.”
Howell Munitions & Technology—established and operated by David Howell—was the previous owner of Freedom Munitions, along with X-Treme Bullets, Ammo Load Worldwide, Clearwater Bullet, Howell Machine, Lewis-Clark Ammunition Components and Components Exchange. By the mid-2010s the Freedom Munitions brand was growing in popularity among enthusiasts, particularly with 3-Gun competitors.
Howell net sales were strong in 2015, coming in at $85.5 million and growing to $105 million by the next year. At the time Freedom’s line addressed a variety of pursuits and budgets, with offering both new and remanufactured cartridges. The company introduced new varieties—like American Steel—with regularity. Sales dropped to $74.6 million in 2017, though, and by 2018, when Howell Munitions & Technology filed for bankruptcy protection in June, the figure plummeted to $33.6 million.
Kash CA purchased some of the assets out of the bankruptcy proceeding in fall of 2019, according to The Lewiston Tribune. Only 80 people of what was once a workforce of 450 employees remained at Lewiston-based firm.
The new plant, located on Kash CA property in downtown Lewiston, will be fully equipped with state-of-the-art machinery and highly trained staff. Each cartridge from Freedom Munitions is USA made and manufactured to SAAMI specifications. The plant is expected to create 20 to 30 new jobs for the area and be fully operational by Spring of 2023.
