SIG Sauer announced on Oct. 6 that it was investing $150 million to add a 250,000-square-foot building to its Elite Performance Ammunition plant in Jacksonville, AR. When complete, another 625 people will work on the campus, nearly tripling an employee count that currently stands at roughly 350.
The factory has grown significantly since SIG Sauer moved its small operation in Eubank, KY, to Jacksonville in 2016. The staff count when it opened in Arkansas was only 50. Five years later the company invested $12 million to expand operations, adding another 210 people to the team.
“We are incredibly excited about expanding our ammunition operations here in Jacksonville and building upon years of success in Arkansas,” said Ron Cohen, SIG Sauer president and CEO. “This opportunity has proven itself essential to the growth and sustainment of our ammunition business, and further enforces our commitment to the Arkansas community and workforce.”
The Jacksonville facility also produces night sights and encompasses nearly 60 acres. SIG Sauer has its national headquarters in New Hampshire, and overall the storied firm employs more than 3,500 people.
“Here in Arkansas, we love welcoming business expansions almost as much as we love defending the Second Amendment,” said Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R). “SIG Sauer’s expansion to their facility in Jacksonville does both, creating jobs and reaffirming Arkansans’ right to keep and bear arms. I’m proud this company chose Arkansas to plant its roots, and I’ll keep cutting taxes, investing in education, and growing our workforce to invite even more jobs and businesses to the Natural State.”
SIG Sauer won the U.S. Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapons contract last year. The firearms are chambered in the company’s 6.8x51 mm FURY Hybrid. Expansion at the Jacksonville plant increases the company’s production capacity for its primers and hybrid-cases, as well as manufacture the completed ammo.
