Another One Bites The Dust: Marlin Plant Closing

[pietro]

For anyone wanting a new Marlin - The New Haven plant's closing in 18 mos, and the lay-offs have started:

http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/business/north-haven-marlin-firearms-plant

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[Heavy lead]

The mass exodus continues in the once great Northeast.
Remember when there was manufacturing from Chicago straight through to the east coast on the I-80, I-90 corredorr, and truck and train traffic solid on I-94 and the Grand Trunk railway filled with cars?
I do, and I'm only 43, WTH is happening?
Somebody better write this down, we're living history, good, bad or ugly.
In reality from a business standpoint, it certainly is understandable though.

[O.S.O.K.]

The Connecticut Marlin plant is closing.

From the report, sounds like they are moving to North Carolina - where parent company Remington Arms is located.

Costs in NC are much much lower.

[Lead Fred]

I bet it has nothing to do with sales, they have been though the roof.

[wallenba]

Unfortunate that they are losing their jobs. At least Americans somewhere here will get those jobs. It could have been worse, The Taiwanese could have bought the whole thing, dismantled it and moved it to China. That has happened before.

[Marine Sgt 2111]

It has everything to do with the bottom line...

[6pt-sika]

Well I pretty much have no intrest in any of the new Marlin's anyway !

Seems to me my preferred nitch at the moment are the rifles made from about 1965 to maybe 1983 .

So I suppose I'll continue accumulating as I've been doing the last year or so !

Might also get back into 1855/1861/1863 Springfields Harpers Ferry's and the contract versions !

[doubs43]

The mass exodus continues in the once great Northeast. WTH is happening?

In a word: TAXES!! CT, like the rest of the NE states, has outrageous tax rates that pushes industry away. As more industry leaves, the taxes go even higher to compensate and yet more people and industry goes elsewhere. It's a vicious cycle.

If the plant moves to NC, they'll get great tax breaks for years and an educated, motivated work force. The cost of living is lower in NC so wages will be lower. It's a win-win for Marlin/Remington any way they look at it.

[MtGun44]

I have several recent Marlins, excellent guns. This is similar to the car factories. Move
out of expensive states with high taxes, often improved union situation - many southern
states are right to work states, lower labor costs. Many northern states hate gunowners,
most southern states love guns and gun owners. Why live in an unfriendly environment with
high taxes and high labor costs when it is easy to change. I feel for the people that will
lose their jobs, but this is business.

Bill

[Daddyfixit]

In a word: TAXES!! CT, like the rest of the NE states, has outrageous tax rates that pushes industry away. As more industry leaves, the taxes go even higher to compensate and yet more people and industry goes elsewhere. It's a vicious cycle.

If the plant moves to NC, they'll get great tax breaks for years and an educated, motivated work force. The cost of living is lower in NC so wages will be lower. It's a win-win for Marlin/Remington any way they look at it.

+1 In Seattle just check on Boeing

[GabbyM]

There are quiet a few shops in the Carolina area that are supplying to FN USA. The new WIN Model 70 is built from parts outsourced from several locations. I'm sure Remington will be accepting bids from job shops all over the area.

I think most people by now understand the challenge a large company has trying to maintain a workforce under government regulations, workman's comp and other benefits. You never know what the part you just ran cost to make since you don't know what the employee that made it is going to cost you a few years down the road. With out sourcing you pay your money and take delivery. It's kind of sad but that's the way it is.

You can log onto the Winchester or FN USA web sites to read all about where and who makes parts for their guns. Remington has bought up so many companies it's hard to say who will make what part but you can bet it will be the low bidder. Which means whomever is willing to work in a working poor environment.


Factory I worked in for 19 years was taken over by Ingersol- Rand Corp. Closed down because it was a union shop and moved production to Pennsylvania and China. Over twenty acres of building frame with large overhead cranes was disassembled and shipped to Japan. sigh.. at least it didn't go to China. That was probalby ten years ago but I was out of ther not long after IR bought the place.

[NickSS]

Its nothing new My Dad lost his job in 1972. The reason was that the factory he worked in in New Jersey spent $5 million to upgrade the facility to meet Federal Clean air law. Two years later New Jersey past their own tougher clean air law. The corporation looked at the cost to meet the New rules, the cost of the high Union Wages they had to pay and they closed the plant and moved the operation to Tennessee where they built a new factory, net all the environmental laws and took a 25% reduction in labor costs. They offered to relocate my Dad but he did not want to move so he was unemployed until he died a year and a half later. A lot of industry is moving out of the north east, west coast and moving into the south and plains states due to cost of doing business in those areas. California is doing so bad right now that my Son's girl friends father has been getting IOUs for part of his pay for over a year now and living on about 75% of salary in California. All due to the cost of doing business there. And Boeing is in the process of moving more and more of their work out of Washington for the same reasons the bottom line and unfriendly business government policies.

[jim4065]

Wait 'til the cost of Osamacare hits. We can't even cloth our own soldiers right now.

[Baron von Trollwhack]

Who is John Galt?

BvT

[phaessler]

One up for TAXES, as a former resident of Connecticut the taxes are outrageous, not only for the businesses but their employess. You have to maintain such a high cost of living increase that it really is going to cut into profitability. I just hope that some form of relocation is in the works and I hope its within the CONUS.
I know with the buy-out by Remington, H&R was moved, Remington has moved alot of its facilities south also. Hopefully they will HQ in NC where the mailing address is now.
My heart goes out the employees and families who will suffer thru this, and may the have the ways and smarts to get out of Gun Unfriendly, Taxed out the A$$, New England.
I do not think we are going to see the Marlin dissappear.
I predict Mossberg will be next......afterall they already have a Texas manufacturing facility.

Pete

[Blammer]

NC welcomes them! I hope they are close to me! Maybe I can get a job there!

[parrott1969]

I do not understand why everyone is saying that they feel sorry for the people at marlin who will be loosing jobs. In my opion they did it to them selfs by 1) thinking that unions are looking out for them 2) allowing the unions to price them out of the market place 3) voting in liberal, gun hating politicans. I know there will be people that will not understand how they could price themselves out of the market place. However, labor is a commidity and unions overinflate it. Labor is one of the highest expenses that a business has. Seems to me that the union bubble has burst, kind of like the housing bubble. LOL

[MT Gianni]

There are facts that none of us will ever know. Parrot, I am the 2nd year of a 4 year contract with a great raise proposed by management. It was put out there so there would be no perceived labor problems in light of an upcoming sale. The sale fell through and no some professional class people are saying the unions got too much and the company should re-negotiate. Two sides meet and two sides sign and both understand the results. Building trades are different than in house but IMO both keep the other honest.

[Freightman]

I worked for a union truck line for thirty years and every contract I kept telling them better watch out you will price yourself right out of a job, you can imagine how popular I was. Well at that time there was Red Ball, TOX ICX Lee Way, Roadway, Merchants, Navajo (ABF) now and Yellow in our local. There is only Yellow, Roadway( which belongs to Yellow) and ABF in the local. Even the union worked there way out of a job as there was 20 employees at the local now there is two. If you do not think that it can happen with to high taxes, wages and benefits ask some 70 year old men who lost there high paying jobs and are now working for minimum wage.
I have been out of that rat race for almost twenty years thankfully. The last contract I talked to a driver that was just starting when I retired and he said they, the union came to them with a status quo contract and said this is all we can get, and if you choose to go on strike you will probably never work again, to there credit they took it.
The company's have a huge amount of money invested and if they can not show a little profit the doors will be shut never to open again.

[hickstick_10]

I do not understand why everyone is saying that they feel sorry for the people at marlin who will be loosing jobs. In my opion they did it to them selfs by 1) thinking that unions are looking out for them 2) allowing the unions to price them out of the market place 3) voting in liberal, gun hating politicans. I know there will be people that will not understand how they could price themselves out of the market place. However, labor is a commidity and unions overinflate it. Labor is one of the highest expenses that a business has. Seems to me that the union bubble has burst, kind of like the housing bubble. LOL

BINGO!!!

give this man a cigar

Wasn't there another lever gun makers whose plants went belly up in Connecticut as well? Had a tough labor union as well, for the life of my I can't remember that gun manufactures name ;)

[MT Gianni]

Same tax situation and worn out equipment also.

[Heavy lead]

Based on my new model 70 compared to a couple that came out of the old plant the Winchester move certainly improved the quality of their product. Now I've never had any issue with any Marlin I've ever had (except slow rifling twists in the .44) but maybe they'll be even better. I do want to pick up a 39A, don't know whether I should wait or not.

[GabbyM]

Heavy Lead:

Winchester is not making the Win model 70. FN USA makes it.

I've got the M-70 bug kind of bad. If I ever found myself looking at one in a gun shop I may not be able to pry my hands off it. I try to stay away from those shops.

After Remington closes the Marlin plant their will never be anymore Marlins made. They will be Remingtons with Marlins name on them. Just like Maytag is only a name now.

[Adam10mm]

Never really much cared or what name is on my gun so much as the quality of such.

[res45]

Blammer I'm with you on needing a job,I hope they move the Marlin plant close to me,but if it's in Madison ,NC thats about 3 hours from me so want do me much good.

All you guys up north and out west don't feel so bad we lost Dell computers,most of FreightlLiner,Alcoa,Continental Tire an plenty more smaller companies so things aren't that great down here in NC either. In fact just today they announced 2800 new layoffs in NC last month and 2400 were in the construction industry.

[Echo]

It has everything to do with the bottom line...

I realize I am repeating what others have said...

Well - it has to. Companies can't survive without making a profit, and the politicos of the NE LOVE to raise taxes and rules and laws &cetera so they can give away $ more to their constituents and provide state/county jobs to the faithful. Unfortunately, increased taxes and regulations generally lead to less production and less income, so is self-defeating. But they won't learn.

The South is much more comfortable re union activity, so there isn't that much of floor sweepers making $24/hr, getting paid for 40 hours, and only working 32. I'm not knocking the workers, just the unions.

And include environmental regulations. A chum I work with is a photographer, has been all his life. His Dad had a photo lab, and James worked in it from kidhood. His Dad finally closed it several years ago (before the digital revolution had really caught on) because the Powers That Be decreed that the chemicals he was putting down the drain were very hazardous and he needed filters &cetera (to the tune of many thousands of dollars) to clean up the discharge. He closed the shop instead, putting several people out of work.

Is there any indication that Marlins will not be produced anymore? I can't believe the marque will go away...

[pmeisel]

A well informed shooter with some informal connections posted on another board that most Marlins will now be built in Ilion, NY in the Remington facility there. It is just the old factory that is closing and the old workforce being retired/laid off.

The Marlin line will continue.

[Bladeforger]

Whew! At least the Marlins are still going to be made so I can get one maybe next year if we survive until then. This economy is killer on gun purchases. :(

I read somewhere that Flynt, Michigan has neighborhoods where you can buy a house for $500. Pictures tell the story why they are so cheap. I'm guessing that high-crime areas with tough gun laws aren't the best places to manufacture firearms. Bring 'em on down to Florida. We're pretty gun-friendly here! (And with **lots** of unemployed potential employees. :))

[fatnhappy]

NC welcomes them! I hope they are close to me! Maybe I can get a job there!


Better SSS and get a suit. Get some deodorant too. Might help your chances.

:kidding:

[Bigscot]

The Connecticut Marlin plant is closing.

From the report, sounds like they are moving to North Carolina - where parent company Remington Arms is located.

Costs in NC are much much lower.

Their headquarters are here but I don't believe they are doing any manufacturing here. That is done in NY.

Bigscot

[NVcurmudgeon]

I think it's great that Marlin and Remington firearms will continue to be made in the USA. Anybody know if Marlin employees are being given the opportunity to move in order to keep their present or equivalent jobs? Last I heard, NC and Ilion, NY were still on our side. I remember when many were crying the blues for Eastman Kodak because film and film cameras were declining in sales. My wife got a new Kodak digital camera for Christmas...made in China. I have yet to see any CHICOM Marlins or Remingtons.

[10 ga]

It's what grandfather called "voting with your feet". 10 ga

[MtGun44]

I sure hope they don't "IMPROVE" the Marlins too much. This outfit buying up all the
gun companies has me worried. If they screw up, the whole darn industry darn near
crashes.

Suppose you wanted to shut down the whole US firearms industry and had about
half a billion dollars to piddle away doing it???????

And there ARE folks rich enough that 500 million would be no big deal to accomplish
an 'important' goal.

[Blazin]

The 1894SS I just bought brand new doesn't seem to have been made on worn out equipment, quite the opposite, it's exceeded my expectations...great trigger, excellent metalwork, and the barrel is beautiful (doesn't foul like my Remington barrels) and it likes both jacketed and lead. Now if they would just offer this gun with a faster barrel twist and no crossbolt safety...

[GabbyM]

The 1894SS I just bought brand new doesn't seem to have been made on worn out equipment, quite the opposite, it's exceeded my expectations...great trigger, excellent metalwork, and the barrel is beautiful (doesn't foul like my Remington barrels) and it likes both jacketed and lead. Now if they would just offer this gun with a faster barrel twist and no crossbolt safety...

When they close manufacturing plants those whom wish to close down the plant always say the equipment is worn out the roof leaks and the plumbing needs replaced. We have Union problems. It's just another broken record line of smoke.