Smith & Wesson applied for the incentives to support its incorporation of 225 existing jobs from other facilities to its Springfield headquarters and to invest $63 million into that facility during the next five years.
Founded in Springfield in 1852, the publicly traded manufacturer of firearms and law-enforcement products announced earlier this month its plans to relocate its Thompson/Center rifle division from Rochester, NH, to Springfield.
The tax break was brokered through the Massachusetts Economic Development Incentive Program and received final approval from the Economic Assistance Coordinating Council on Tuesday, according to Gregory P. Bialecki, state secretary of housing and economic development. Bialecki said he was told the company also considered consolidating its operations in other states where it has facilities, including New Hampshire and Tennessee.
"Although several states and cities have approached us to entice expansion into their locations, Massachusetts and the Patrick-Murray Administration, Secretary Bialecki and his office and Springfield Mayor Sarno and his staff, collaborated on the project to make our choice clear," said Smith & Wesson President, James Debney.
The Boston Globe reports the tax breaks translate into nearly $27,000 per job and reflect the second-largest incentive package the state has awarded in 2010. Massachusetts recently reconfigured its tax incentive program to steer more money to manufacturers and other companies with significant out-of-state sales, and to give preference to businesses expanding in economically struggling cities such as Springfield.
"We are proud to continue our 158-year heritage of firearm manufacturing in Springfield and we are excited that many of the state's largest law enforcement organizations, including Worcester, Springfield, and Lowell, have joined agencies across the nation in choosing the reliability and safety of our Massachusetts-made M&P pistols," said Michael Golden, Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation president and CEO.
