Firearms maker SCCY to bring 350 jobs, HQ to Blount Co.
MARYVILLE - Handgun maker SCCY Industries will move its factory and headquarters from Daytona Beach, Fla., to a new 68-acre campus in Maryville’s Big Springs Industrial Park.
The move will bring a minimum of 350 jobs to Blount County over five years, said Joe Roebuck, founder and CEO of SCCY.
“When we say we’re going to employ 350 people, that’s very conservative,” he said.
Roebuck and company President Wayne Holt came to the Blount Partnership office for the Wednesday afternoon announcement, along with state and local officials.
“Today Blount County has another winner,” said Bob Rolfe, Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development commissioner. Roebuck had many options for his new location, but was attracted by Tennessee’s friendliness for economic development and Maryville’s quality of life, Rolfe said.
Roebuck employs about 200 in his Florida factory, but plans to move only “a few key people,” maybe a half-dozen, to Tennessee as he gradually shuts down the Daytona Beach facility, he said.
Roebuck said he hopes to start construction on a 75,000-square-foot plant late this year or early next, and begin production in mid- to late 2018. Initially, it will have about 200 employees, hired locally, and SCCY will add 50 to 60 people per year for the following three years, he said.
“Anything from office work to machine operator all the way up to high-level administrator” will be hired, Roebuck said. He also intends to start a paid fouryear apprenticeship program.
Roebuck plans a campus of five industrial buildings, plus a “sky lodge” to house visiting industry leaders and gun writers, with an outdoor shooting range, he said.
The new facility involves a $22.5 million investment, according to the announcement. Roebuck said he plans to move about $10 million in equipment in stages to Maryville.
Roebuck said he got into gunmaking when, as a tool and die maker, he made equipment for another gun company that went out of business. After studying the market for a year, he opened his own, aiming for a high-quality mid-market handgun. Starting with no employees in 2003, he built up to 200 workers in Florida, but had no room to expand, he said.