by Joseph P. Tartaro | Executive Editor 
In December, the final primary lead smelter in the United States will close.
The lead smelter, located in Herculaneum, MO, and owned and operated by the Doe Run Company, has existed in the same location since 1892.
The Herculaneum smelter is currently the only smelter in the US which can produce lead bullion from raw lead ore that is mined nearby in Missouri’s extensive lead deposits, giving the smelter its “primary” designation. The lead bullion produced in Herculaneum is then sold to lead product producers, including ammunition manufactures for use in conventional ammunition components such as projectiles, projectile cores, and primers, as well as a number of other consumer and industrial products. Several “secondary” smelters, where lead is recycled from products such as lead acid batteries or spent ammunition components, still operate in the United States.
Doe Run made significant efforts to reduce lead emissions from the smelter, but in 2008 the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued new National Ambient Air Quality Standards for lead that were 10 times tighter than the previous standard.
Given the new lead air quality standard, Doe Run made the decision to close the Herculaneum smelter.
Whatever the EPA’s motivation when creating the new lead air quality standard, increasingly restrictive regulation of lead is likely to affect the production and cost of traditional ammunition.
Just last month, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law a bill that will ban lead ammunition for all hunting in California. The Center for Biological Diversity has tried multiple times to get similar regulations at the federal level by trying, and repeatedly failing, to get the EPA to regulate conventional ammunition under the Toxic Substances Control Act.
At this time, it’s unclear if Doe Run or another company will open a new lead smelter in the US that can meet the more stringent lead air quality standards by using more modern smelting methods. What is clear is that after the Herculaneum smelter closes its doors in December, entirely domestic manufacture of conventional ammunition, from raw ore to finished cartridges, will be impossible, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
ATI leaving New York
American Tactical Imports (ATI), a Rochester, NY, company that makes and imports firearms and ammunition, announced in late October their decision to relocate to Summerville, SC. ATI said it would begin the relocation process to Summerville, SC beginning in November of 2013.
The company said, “As one of the gun industry’s top importers of firearms and firearm related accessories, ATI’s decision to relocate is two-fold. ATI believes it is imperative that a firearms importer and manufacturer do business within a state that is friendly to the Second Amendment rights of the people.
It is also important that ATI be close to the port-of-entry into the country for several of their imported products. The relocation to South Carolina ensures that both of these factors are met.” South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said, “We celebrate American Tactical Imports’ decision to invest $2.7 million and create 117 new jobs in Dorchester County.” ATI is the second firearms company to announce plans to leave the state since the SAFE Act was signed into law. In July, Kahr Arms, based in Rockland County, announced the move of its headquarters to Pennsylvania.
ATI imports its signature German Sports Guns (GSG) family of products, accessory lines like Drago Gear® and manufactures its own line of ATI AR-15 complete rifles and components.
Henry builds in WI
Henry Repeating Arms, a leading lever action rifle manufacturer headquartered in Bayonne NJ, will begin manufacturing their steel center fire rifles in their Rice Lake, WI, facility in 2014.
To date the company’s Wisconsin plant has supplied the Bayonne operation with many components used in all Henry models, including receivers, bolts, sights and other internal parts.
Several million dollars of new computerized machining equipment was invested in the Wisconsin facility to support the manufacturing of the company’s caliber .30-30 and .45-70 rifles and to increase the volume of the components produced for its rim fire rifles.
Henry Repeating Arms purchased the 138,000 sq. ft. Rice Lake facility in 2006 from Wright Products, a subsidiary of FKI Industries, who manufactured their own line of storm door hardware. Wright also supplied components to other industries including Henry Repeating since 1998.
Henry purchased the building and manufacturing equipment and retained 17 experienced employees. Today the company employs over 100 people and continues to hire to support its continued growth. The company said it will build and ship in excess of 300,000 rifles in 2013 and employs 300 people in total.
Briefs
Two gun companies—PTR Industries, and Ithaca Gun Company, which recently announced their intended moves to South Carolina—“will soon transform the sleepy Cool Springs community into a bustling hub of the firearms industry,” according to an article at MyHorryNews.com.
The local newsblog reported that Horry County, SC, officials had confirmed Ithaca, currently in Ohio, will build a $6.7 million, 20,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in the Cool Springs Business Park. That is the same rural area where Connecticut-based gun maker PTR Industries, reacting to that state’s new firearms laws, is relocating its headquarters.
They also announced that a public shooting range will be part of the Horry County “gun park.” Kel-Tec in Cocoa, FL, has achieved ISO 9001:2008 certification underscoring Kel-Tec’s continued efforts to streamline the manufacturing process and better meet the demands of a growing industry. As a result of these efforts, Kel-Tec will have the ability to produce their products more efficiently and with increased quality control.
Sturm, Ruger & Co announced on Nov. 6 that for the third quarter of 2013 the company reported net sales of $170.9 million and fully diluted earnings of $1.44 per share, compared with net sales of $118.2 million and fully diluted earnings of 88¢ per share in the third quarter of 2012.
For the nine months ended September 28, 2013, net sales were $506.4 million and fully diluted earnings were $4.25 per share. For the corresponding period in 2012, net sales were $350.1 million and fully diluted earnings were $2.58 per share
