A few weeks ago I spent the day at firearm manufacturer PTR Industries in Aynor, SC during an editorial photography and video assignment for our client USA Today.
For those who don’t know about PTR Industries, they started out in 2002 by producing a rifle that is based on the Heckler & Koch G3/HK91 design after purchasing blueprints and tooling from FBP – Fabrica de Braço de Prata of Portugal which was an HK licensed factory. In the summer of 2013 PTR relocated their entire company from Bristol, Conn., to Aynor, SC., due in part to the passage of increasingly strict gun control laws by the state of Connecticut following shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
For this story we got to check in with PTR executives, CEO, Josh Fiorini, and vice president, John McNamara who opened their doors and gave us un-restricted access to their 58,000-square-foot facility to see how business was doing a year after the move. They filled us in on the bumps in the road that they encountered as well as the positive outlook they have for future growth.
Gallery – Inside Firearm Manufacturer PTR Industries
Aynor, SC — GunsRelocated: When Connecticut and New York passed strict gun laws following the 2012 Newtown massacre, some gun-makers firmly rooted in the heart of the firearm industry made life and business-altering decisions. They left. In their pursuit of cheap land and deep tax breaks offered by friendly suitors from South Carolina, Texas and Nevada, they have been forced to contend with new challenges: finding skilled workers from the plentiful pool left behind in the so-called “New England Gun Valley’’ and new distribution channels to get their products, including the controversial and much-coveted assault rifles—to market. — Photo by Brett Flashnick, Freelance
Aynor, SC — Steve Clark, of Horry County, SC works on final assembly and inspection of a rifle at PTR Industries in Aynor, SC on Friday, July 17, 2015. Parker is a local resident who was hired by PTR to staff their manufacturing facility in Aynor after moving from Bristol, Conn., in the spring of 2014 following the passage of strict gun laws in their home state passed during the wake of the 2012 Newtown shooting. — Photo by Brett Flashnick, Freelance
Aynor, SC — GunsRelocated: When Connecticut and New York passed strict gun laws following the 2012 Newtown massacre, some gun-makers firmly rooted in the heart of the firearm industry made life and business-altering decisions. They left. In their pursuit of cheap land and deep tax breaks offered by friendly suitors from South Carolina, Texas and Nevada, they have been forced to contend with new challenges: finding skilled workers from the plentiful pool left behind in the so-called “New England Gun Valley’’ and new distribution channels to get their products, including the controversial and much-coveted assault rifles—to market. (Proposing that we spend some time, probably in the small South Carolina community where PTR Industries, a former Connecticut rifle maker, relocated last year. PTR brought 20 of its Connecticut employees along on the move, and hired the rest in SC.) — Photo by Brett Flashnick, Freelance
Aynor, SC — Stan Parker, 51, of Aynor, SC works on stamping receivers for rifles out of sheet metal at PTR Industries on Thursday, July 16, 2015. Parker is a local resident who was hired by PTR to staff their manufacturing facility in Aynor after moving from Bristol, Conn., in the spring of 2014 following the passage of strict gun laws in their home state during the wake of the 2012 Newtown shooting. — Photo by Brett Flashnick, Freelance
Aynor, SC — GunsRelocated: When Connecticut and New York passed strict gun laws following the 2012 Newtown massacre, some gun-makers firmly rooted in the heart of the firearm industry made life and business-altering decisions. They left. In their pursuit of cheap land and deep tax breaks offered by friendly suitors from South Carolina, Texas and Nevada, they have been forced to contend with new challenges: finding skilled workers from the plentiful pool left behind in the so-called “New England Gun Valley’’ and new distribution channels to get their products, including the controversial and much-coveted assault rifles—to market. (Proposing that we spend some time, probably in the small South Carolina community where PTR Industries, a former Connecticut rifle maker, relocated last year. PTR brought 20 of its Connecticut employees along on the move, and hired the rest in SC.) — Photo by Brett Flashnick, Freelance
Aynor, SC — GunsRelocated: When Connecticut and New York passed strict gun laws following the 2012 Newtown massacre, some gun-makers firmly rooted in the heart of the firearm industry made life and business-altering decisions. They left. In their pursuit of cheap land and deep tax breaks offered by friendly suitors from South Carolina, Texas and Nevada, they have been forced to contend with new challenges: finding skilled workers from the plentiful pool left behind in the so-called “New England Gun Valley’’ and new distribution channels to get their products, including the controversial and much-coveted assault rifles—to market. (Proposing that we spend some time, probably in the small South Carolina community where PTR Industries, a former Connecticut rifle maker, relocated last year. PTR brought 20 of its Connecticut employees along on the move, and hired the rest in SC.) — Photo by Brett Flashnick, Freelance
Aynor, SC — GunsRelocated: When Connecticut and New York passed strict gun laws following the 2012 Newtown massacre, some gun-makers firmly rooted in the heart of the firearm industry made life and business-altering decisions. They left. In their pursuit of cheap land and deep tax breaks offered by friendly suitors from South Carolina, Texas and Nevada, they have been forced to contend with new challenges: finding skilled workers from the plentiful pool left behind in the so-called “New England Gun Valley’’ and new distribution channels to get their products, including the controversial and much-coveted assault rifles—to market. (Proposing that we spend some time, probably in the small South Carolina community where PTR Industries, a former Connecticut rifle maker, relocated last year. PTR brought 20 of its Connecticut employees along on the move, and hired the rest in SC.) — Photo by Brett Flashnick, Freelance
It was great to photograph, film, and interview some of the employees who made the move from Connecticut as they worked alongside those who were hired locally in Horry County, SC, and its even better to see high quality American manufacturing is alive and growing here in South Carolina.
Make sure to read the article From boom to near-bust: A gunmaker’s cautionary tale by Kevin Johnson on USA Today.
