Facts About Remington Arms: History, Locations and Information

Remington Arms prides itself on being “America's Oldest Gunmaker.” With a long and interesting history, there are plenty of interesting facts about Remington Arms.

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Early History: The Ultimate Family Business
Eliphalet Remington was a rural blacksmith in New York. His son, Eliphalet II, realized he could build a flintlock rifle himself that was as good as, or better than, what was on the market at the time. The younger Eliphalet entered a shooting competition with the rifle in 1816. He impressed his fellow competitors with the quality of the weapon and his second-place finish, according to Remington's history webpage.

The company was a family-run business for many years, with the third generation of Remingtons joining in the late 1830s. The family controlled the company until 1888, when they sold to Harley and Graham of New York, a large sporting goods store chain.

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Products: More Than Just Rifles
The Remington name was branded on a wide range of manufactured goods. The Remington Standard 2 typewriter was the first mass produced and widely sold typewriter in the United States, according to The Typewriter Museum.

Remington also helped popularize sewing machines and mechanical cash registers. The cash register business was sold to National Cash Register, which still does business in the payment processing industry as NCR. Spare plant capacity was also used to forge hunting knives and household cutlery.

Locations
The company's Ilion, N.Y., factory stands where the original shop was started by the elder and younger Eliphalet Remington. The company's corporate headquarters are now in Madison, N.C. In addition to New York, the company has manufacturing facilities in Hickory, Ky., Huntsville, Ala., and Lonoke, Ark.

Ownership
During World War II, chemical giant DuPont purchased increasing shares of Remington Arms until they owned the entire company by 1980. DuPont sold the company to private investors in 1993.

In 2007, Cerberus Capital Management bought Remington and other firearm manufacturers as part of its Freedom Group family of companies. Cerberus is actively seeking bids for Freedom Group due to pressure from CalSTRS, the California public school teachers’ pension.

The union, which holds a $750 million stake in Cerberus, is forcing the investment firm to eliminate firearms manufacturing from its holdings in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, according to CNN Money.

This article does not constitute legal advice. Check the current gun laws before purchasing or traveling with a firearm.

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