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Steve Higgins, Register Business Editor
08/19/2006
-NEW HAVEN — Olin Corp. said Friday it granted Browning the license to produce Winchester rifles because it has a lengthy track record in the firearms business.
"Browning is a long-established developer and marketer of firearms, and they are committed to the brand," said Ann Pipkin, spokeswoman for Missouri-based Olin. "We’re proud of our heritage, and we decided on Browning because we believe that’s the best decision for consumers."
The alternative was a newly formed Greenwich company named American Firearms Co. that promised to keep in the United States the manufacture of the famed Winchester models previously made in New Haven, models 70 and 94.
The New Haven plant was closed in March after 140 years here, putting 186 employees out of work.
Sources involved with the licensing negotiations have said Morgan, Utah-based Browning officials made it clear they plan to move production abroad, possibly to Russia or Portugal.
Browning officials did not return telephone calls for comment Thursday or Friday.
Dave Bichrest, 65, executive secretary of the Winchester Arms Collectors Association in Silsbee, Texas, said he wouldn’t buy a Winchester model made overseas.
"I don’t want anything to do with it," he said. "I’ll buy a used American model, at a higher cost, before I buy a brand-new one made in Russia, or any other country."
Still, Bichrest said many gun buyers, including some within the 2,000-member collectors’ group, would continue buying Winchesters made abroad if the quality is the same. He noted that many collectors already buy other, lesser-known Winchester models made in Japan, Portugal and other countries.
Bichrest said he believes Herstal Group, the Belgian company that owned U.S. Repeating Arms Co. in New Haven and also owns Browning, mismanaged the New Haven plant at 344 Winchester Ave.
"It was losing money, and there is no excuse for them to lose money on a Winchester," he said. "They couldn’t keep up with the orders they had. They didn’t even have the barrels on hand that they needed."
Michael Blank, the St. Louis gun manufacturer who started www.savewinchester.com in January, said, "I’m disappointed. The first goal was to keep it in the U.S. and keep some presence in New Haven, its historic home. We talked about distribution, warehousing, engraving (at the New Haven plant)."
Blank said he believes Olin, which makes ammunition for Winchesters and also receives royalties on the gun sales, was afraid to risk going with an untested company.
"It’s a risk-averse play, but that’s what’s been plaguing the industry. No one is taking any chances or doing anything new," Blank said. "They played it safe."
New Haven Economic Development Administrator Kelly Murphy said city officials will try to find another type of buyer for the 225,000-square-foot complex, built in the early 1990s across the street from the original plant. "Some other businesses have expressed an interest in the building," she said.
Steve Higgins can be reached at [email protected].
08/19/2006
-NEW HAVEN — Olin Corp. said Friday it granted Browning the license to produce Winchester rifles because it has a lengthy track record in the firearms business.
"Browning is a long-established developer and marketer of firearms, and they are committed to the brand," said Ann Pipkin, spokeswoman for Missouri-based Olin. "We’re proud of our heritage, and we decided on Browning because we believe that’s the best decision for consumers."
The alternative was a newly formed Greenwich company named American Firearms Co. that promised to keep in the United States the manufacture of the famed Winchester models previously made in New Haven, models 70 and 94.
The New Haven plant was closed in March after 140 years here, putting 186 employees out of work.
Sources involved with the licensing negotiations have said Morgan, Utah-based Browning officials made it clear they plan to move production abroad, possibly to Russia or Portugal.
Browning officials did not return telephone calls for comment Thursday or Friday.
Dave Bichrest, 65, executive secretary of the Winchester Arms Collectors Association in Silsbee, Texas, said he wouldn’t buy a Winchester model made overseas.
"I don’t want anything to do with it," he said. "I’ll buy a used American model, at a higher cost, before I buy a brand-new one made in Russia, or any other country."
Still, Bichrest said many gun buyers, including some within the 2,000-member collectors’ group, would continue buying Winchesters made abroad if the quality is the same. He noted that many collectors already buy other, lesser-known Winchester models made in Japan, Portugal and other countries.
Bichrest said he believes Herstal Group, the Belgian company that owned U.S. Repeating Arms Co. in New Haven and also owns Browning, mismanaged the New Haven plant at 344 Winchester Ave.
"It was losing money, and there is no excuse for them to lose money on a Winchester," he said. "They couldn’t keep up with the orders they had. They didn’t even have the barrels on hand that they needed."
Michael Blank, the St. Louis gun manufacturer who started www.savewinchester.com in January, said, "I’m disappointed. The first goal was to keep it in the U.S. and keep some presence in New Haven, its historic home. We talked about distribution, warehousing, engraving (at the New Haven plant)."
Blank said he believes Olin, which makes ammunition for Winchesters and also receives royalties on the gun sales, was afraid to risk going with an untested company.
"It’s a risk-averse play, but that’s what’s been plaguing the industry. No one is taking any chances or doing anything new," Blank said. "They played it safe."
New Haven Economic Development Administrator Kelly Murphy said city officials will try to find another type of buyer for the 225,000-square-foot complex, built in the early 1990s across the street from the original plant. "Some other businesses have expressed an interest in the building," she said.
Steve Higgins can be reached at [email protected].
