A New Primer Manufacturer in the Planning

DK'dUranium

New Member
Making primers is the most dangerous, hardest and most complicated piece that goes into making ammunition. I grew up about 6 miles from the plant that made primers for 50BMG from WW2 to the 1970's. Place blew up at least four times, burned down twice and killed I don't know how many people.
What was it, Remington that decades ago had a little "R" stamped into their primers? My buds had a running joke that "primer stamper" was the entry level position to work at the ammo plants, and that they had you work in a shack in a far distant corner away from everything else.
 

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
Praise to these people for even trying to build this plant. During the last powder and primer shortage, I was contacted by an investment group about setting up a plant to manufacture powder and possibly primers. One of the members knew I hold a degree in Chemistry, had experience as a process/production engineer, and reloaded for shooting competition. The discussion soon went to primer production as the primers are the lodgepole item for ammunition.

There are major stepping stones (delays and blockages) along the way:
  • Getting a firm to design the plant is not easy, many firms shy away due to fear of future litigation if anyone is injured in a dangerous setting.
  • Federal government environmental and OSHA regulations for a new plant are hideous, the state adds their regulations to the batch.
  • Then getting funding for a plant that may blow up is difficult, bankers want their safety people to review all plans.
  • Hiring production workers with the ability to follow established procedures is almost impossible as your Human Resources people suddenly become experts because they once read a Reader's HR rules.
........
While those issues exist, none of them are insurmountable. And their competitors face the same obstacles.
It all comes down to money. If they can hit a price point that remains competitive, they have a real chance of making it. However, if their production costs exceed what the market will bear, they will fail. I'm sure they have already run the numbers and know where they need to be in terms of final product cost and and profit. The primer market is a bubble right now and that bubble will burst. When the price adjusts, if it lands below what that new factory can meet, they will fail. If the adjusted price settles above their price point - they will make it.
 

BudHyett

Active Member
While those issues exist, none of them are insurmountable. And their competitors face the same obstacles.
It all comes down to money. If they can hit a price point that remains competitive, they have a real chance of making it. However, if their production costs exceed what the market will bear, they will fail. I'm sure they have already run the numbers and know where they need to be in terms of final product cost and and profit. The primer market is a bubble right now and that bubble will burst. When the price adjusts, if it lands below what that new factory can meet, they will fail. If the adjusted price settles above their price point - they will make it.
The final point is contacting this new group to see if they understand the small but steady market the competition reloader presents. I've often felt as the red-headed stepchild in a family reunion when talking to the mainstream manufacturers at the NRA Annual Meetings I've attended. As far as I am concerned, the current crop of gun writers are the whores of the firearms industry.

The last time I had an interesting and intelligent conversation about match grade primers for reloading competition ammunition was with Jim Stekl for Remington at the Orlando meeting two decades ago.
 

popper

Well-Known Member
Yup, lake city had a primer plant explosion few yrs back, guy made an error and won't do it again. I was raised between Lake City and Sunflower plant. I'm curious if they may move the cup stamping or entire stamping operation into texas. Yes, the Rem plant is just across the state line a couple miles. Their metal stamping operation is out of Joplin, Mo. They are selling(?) 308 and 9mm ammo now?
 

RicinYakima

High Steppes of Eastern Washington
Now that the government has sold the LC facility to Vista, who knows what is happening. Except the reloaders aren't getting much.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
one of the pieces of scuttlebutt i've heard is they have a plan to run their primers on some type of automated process.
that's gonna take some serious thought process to put together properly.