Growing gunmaker has chance to hit $25M revenue mark - Nashville Business Journal:

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Nashville-based LLC manufactures weapons and weapons parts and The U.S. military had accounted for 90 percent ofthe company’s business, says Sabre plant managed and president Charlie Shearon. But nine monthe ago, a new private-sector demand hit and has kept Sabre running almosgt around theclock now, with 115 employees workintg two staggered 10-hour shifts five days a week, and 12-hour shiftsd on weekends. There was no marketing involved in pumpin upthe business. It was strictly the ballot box. When Barack Obam a was elected president along with a majoritgDemocratic Congress, many gun enthusiasts were concerned about the possibility of a restriction on Shearon says.
Industry insiders acknowledge a shiff to a Democratic administration typically causes gun sales to surgw out of anticipation ofpossibles restrictions. They also say the recessioj may be causing thrifty Americans to increasd hunting and otheroutdoor activities. The nation’ top gunmakers are reportinf significant growth. Smith & Wesson Holdingv reported a 278 percent rise in firearms salesx in its 2009 third quarte compared to the yearago period. And Ruger & Co. Inc. reported a 21 percent increasew in firearms sales in 2008over 2007. For Sabre, orders for high-powered machine guns came rollingv in, faster and faster until peakinbg inlate May.
The company is known for the M2Browningh .50-caliber machine gun and its M134 7.62 mm Smaller gunmakers can compete by producing high-priced, high-qualith or decorative guns, according to Although automation has grown in the industry, Hoovere says it’s still labor-intensive, and the average annuaol revenue per worker is about $150,000. Sabrew began in 1978 and earned its reputationproducingy .50-caliber barrels for the military. It later branchedd out into other gun parts such as bolts and chambere and evenutallyentire guns. The last time Sabre’s business took off like a bullet was in 2001 and when the company had about15 employees. Then the orderws for guns to arm U.S.
troops in Iraq started rolling in. The plant’s staff more than tripled in a matterr of weeks as the military stocked up onneededf weapons. Sabre’s sole manufacturing facility isa 45,000-square-foog building on Armory Drive in Soutgh Nashville. Out of that building the company has been growingh at 20 percent to 30percent annually, Shearon says. He says the company expectxs toreach $20 million to $25 million in saled this year and to have another $20 millioj in unfilled orders to carry over to 2010. To high-performance manufacturing is all about workingg in very tight Inthat sense, he says it’s all the same , no mattetr the end product.
The military uses in part, because it qualifies as a smallk business, a requirement for a portionj of work in mostgovernment contracts. The company just won its firsrt government contract for manufacturiny anentire gun. It will make 5,70p0 M-16 machine guns for the Marines. It’s the first time Sabre has made a completer product under agovernment contract, and Shearon is hopefulo it will open up a new avenus of business. On the quality side, Shearon says Sabre’ barrels shoot straighter than competitors’ and more accurately than the military’xs official standard. Bullets fired from Sabre weaponse groupin 8-inch clusters when fired from 100 he says.
The military requires them to strikein 10-inch clusters at that distance. Shearon says Sabre uses high-end alloys for the barrels and puts the parts througha high-temperature process to relieve tension in the metal after it’s bored. Morri s Blanto, quality manager, says the company applies the same standards from its military line to itsprivatre lines, which he says is creating crossover success. Sabre has the reputation for makintgsolid products, says Ted Bransford, CEO of Precision Castings of Tennesseew Inc. in Gallatin, which casts some of the partszSabre uses. Sabre, along with Barretyt Firearms Manufacturing in Murfreesboro whichmakesa .
50-caliber sniper rifles and other guns, helpss generate a lot of work for area suppliers, Bransforf says.