Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Guns are booming business in state
Only Texas exceeds Florida’s $1 billion firearms industry
When Andrew Rencich wanted to show his support for Donald Trump, he built a custom “Make America Great Again” AR-15 rifle and painted it red, white and blue.
Rencich is one of the dozens of small firearms manufacturers that have spread through Florida in recent years, fueled by gun owners’ fears during the Obama administration and by friendly treatment from the Sunshine State.
From small shops tucked away in strip malls to factories churning out tens of thousands of guns, the arms and ammunition industry now employs more than 7,000 people in Florida, producing a $1 billion economic impact, according to the
National Shooting Sports Foundation, a trade association for the firearms industry.
In comparison, the state estimates that tourism supports more than 875,000 jobs, producing $53 billion in wages. Still, only Texas has more gun manufacturers licensed with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
“Florida is not just about tourism,” Rencich said. “The firearms industry is a big part of Florida as well.”
Gun-friendly Florida
Florida politicians have embraced the gun industry, offering money to entice firearms manufacturers to do business here. It’s also aided the industry by making it easier for Floridians to own and shoot guns, reducing the cost of a concealedcarry permit and funding a large shooting park in Palm Beach County.
ATF’s 2008 production report shows 38 gun manufacturers and exporters in Florida. That number climbed to 155 in the 2016 report, according to a South Florida Sun Sentinel analysis of ATF records.
In the 2016 report, Florida manufacturers reported producing 729,064 guns, making Florida the No. 5 state in terms of production. Massachusetts was the topproducing state, making 2.7 million guns, followed by New Hampshire, Arizona and New York, according to the Sun Sentinel’s analysis.
In terms of total economic output, Florida’s firearms industry ranks No. 3 behind only California and Texas, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s 2018 report. At a time when blue-collar work has been strained by globalization, jobs in the firearms industry are paying an average of nearly $50,000 a year in wages and benefits, according to the trade group.
The firearm industry’s historic home is known as Gun Valley — a chain of large factories and suppliers that extends from Smith & Wesson’s headquarters in Springfield, Mass., to Colt in West Hartford, Conn.
But gunmakers — particularly smaller and midsize operations — are moving from the Northeast and the West to states in the South, which have a reputation as being low-tax and gun friendly, said Dan Zimmerman, managing editor of The Truth About Guns Internet blog, which follows the firearms industry.
“You can understand the reluctance to do business in a state that severely regulates or outright bans your product line,” he said.
Florida has been eyeing those jobs.
Osceola County spent $500,000 renovating a building to entice Colt to locate a regional headquarters in Kissimmee, and the state promised to chip in $250,000 more in incentive money for a project expected to generate 63 highpaying jobs. The county was to retain the building and charge Colt a mere $1 in rent for the first five years.
Gov. Rick Scott hailed the deal in 2011 as sending a message that “Florida is both open for business and a defender of our right to bear arms.”
Colt backed out of the deal and repaid $50,000 of the incentive money as required by its contract for failing to hit its job-creation benchmark.
Working with the state, Broward County commissioners approved a $162,000 incentive package in June 2015 for Kalashnikov USA, which produces Russian-style AK-47 rifles at a factory in Pompano Beach.
That deal has come under scrutiny with U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-West Boca, asking the Treasury Department to examine whether Russian sanctions enacted by the Obama administration were violated. A federal grand jury in Miami is also examining the matter.
Company officials have denied wrongdoing, saying they do not have a business relationship with Kalashnikov Concern, the Russian arms manufacturer targeted by U.S. sanctions.
A review of state records shows that Florida provided $15,000 to Kel-Tec CNC Industries Inc., a Cocoa-based manufacturer, to train its workers.
The state has been willing to assist the industry in myriad other ways. The state Legislature approved $3 million this year to help build a 150-acre shooting park in Palm Beach County that is supported by the National Rifle Association. State lawmakers exempted gun and shooting club membership fees from the sales tax in 2015, a move that cost the state an estimated $1.2 million in revenue. The state has lowered concealed-carry permit fees three times in the past six years, saving people $20 when applying for or renewing a license.
Powerful NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer has wielded influence in Tallahassee, getting a law passed that stripped the authority of local government boards to regulate firearms, such as banning guns in parks or prohibiting backyard shooting ranges. Hammer pushed for 2005’s “stand your ground” law, which made it easier for people to claim self-defense when using deadly force in public.
Smaller manufacturers
Smaller operations, such as Rencich’s, have fueled much of the growth in the number of producers in Florida. Two-thirds of Florida’s gunmakers produce fewer than 25 guns a year, according to the 2016 ATF production report.
Rencich’s shop in Crestview, a rural community in Florida’s Panhandle, is a family affair. Rencich, 32, said he runs the business with his wife, and his 14-year-old daughter teaches a concealed-carry class.
Buyers like to design guns as retirement gifts, he said. Competitive shooters want guns with lighter parts and other features. Part of the appeal, Rencich said, is a firearm that looks different than the “run-of-the-mill” gun.
Although Rencich is not operating an assembly line churning out guns, he still needs a manufacturing license to make the types of custom guns his customers want.
Rencich said he wanted to present his customized AR-15 to Donald Trump, but he wasn’t able to arrange it. He’s working on a custom handgun for Trump’s 2020 re-election that will serve as a companion piece.
Manufacturers have been dealing with what has been called the “Trump slump.” FBI background checks — a common measurement of gun purchases — retreated in 2017 from record highs as the prospect of gun control regulations lessened with Trump’s election.
But after the Parkland school shooting, background checks for the month of March spiked to 2.7 million, a sign that fearbased buying could be returning as calls for gun control mount.
“That can only result in more guns being sold,” Zimmerman said. “That only fuels people’s desire to buy.”
Despite slower sales and calls for an assault-weapons ban, Rencich said he is expanding from a 1,200-square-foot building to a new 7,200-square-foot shop, which he said represents a more than $1 million investment.
In South Florida, The Biker Shop in Margate makes guns while offering motorcycle repairs. American Herald Weaponry in Davie advertises, “We can build the perfect AR-15 for you because you will design it!” CSC Arms — another Davie manufacturer — sells guns named “War Fighter” and “Head Shot.”
But gun-friendly Southeastern states also have been jostling for bigger production facilities. South Florida’s largest gunmaker — Miami-based Taurus — announced last month that it is moving to Bainbridge, Ga., just up the road from Tallahassee in southern Georgia.
David Blenker, president and CEO of Taurus USA, said in a statement that the decision was made as part of a “long-term growth” strategy. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal hailed the deal as producing more than 300 jobs and representing a $22.5 million investment.
Enticed by an incentive package, another larger gunmaker, Daytona Beachbased SCCY Industries, decided last year to move its operations to Maryville, Tenn.
Company president Wayne Holt told The Knoxville News Sentinel he was looking for “intelligent and industrious people,” which he said he found to be lacking in Florida.
Florida remains home to sizable gunmakers such as Kel-Tec, which produces tens of thousands of pistols and rifles at its facility in Cocoa. I.O. Inc. builds American-Made AK-style rifles at its plant in Palm Bay. Apopka-based Spike’s Tactical bills its product line as “the finest AR-15s” on the planet.