New England has long been home to firearms manufacturing. In fact, four of the top five firearm producers have plants in New Hampshire and Maine: Sturm, Ruger and Company (Newport, New Hampshire), Remington Arms (Windham, Maine), Smith & Wesson (Houlton, Maine), and Sig Sauer (Newington, New Hampshire). And business is good.

While these companies do not like to talk about sales and distribution of their products, it’s clear that demand is strong for both domestic sales to hunters, collectors and for personal protection, and to police, military and government organizations around the world.

As firearms manufacturers expand and strive for higher productivity, they turn to advanced manufacturing, as most other manufacturers do, to help increase output and quality. Since firearms are primarily made up of metal parts, machining is a prime area for automation. That being the case, manufacturers like Sig Sauer need machinists trained in the programming and operation of computer numeric controls (CNC).

The continuing search for CNC operators has led Sig Sauer to partner with Great Bay Community College to set up a training program complete with CNC simulators and a dedicated instructor from Great Bay. More than 100 entry level CNC operators have completed the program and many of them are now Sig Sauer employees. The 8-week, 320-hour program includes an opportunity to job shadow at Sig Sauer’s manufacturing facility. Almost all of the students who attend the program have never operated a CNC machine. They come from all walks of life such as social services, the food industry and other manufacturing sectors.

Employers are finding it expedient to hire someone with no experience but has strong reading, math and soft skills, and pay them to go through the program. Participants in the Great Bay program are required to be in the New Hampshire Work Ready Program and earn a National Career Readiness certificate.

Sig Sauer will also relocate skilled employees from across the U.S. to the Seacoast area. It is currently looking for CNC machine operators, quality inspectors, and design engineers.

Smith & Wesson’s factory in Houlton, Maine, may be smaller than Sig Sauer in Newington, but it faces similar challenges. The company offers a variety of jobs in Houlton, ranging from entry level jobs to trained/skilled positions. The entry level jobs require candidates to have basic skills and an ability to follow directions, and the company does not usually have difficulty filling those jobs. The more skilled positions are often harder to fill.

To locate candidates for machine operator positions, Smith & Wesson looks for applicants with strong math and problem solving skills. Once the right candidates are identified, the company provides specific job training, and that whole process generally takes four to six months before the new employees are fully up to speed.

Smith & Wesson works closely with Northern Maine Community College (NMCC) in nearby Presque Isle. Company managers sit on the manufacturing advisory board at NMCC where they can work with the school on program changes and improvements to address their needs as a local employer. Based on this input, the school developed a 2-year precision metals machining program that is already delivering results. Smith & Wesson has hired a number of graduates including managers, engineers and machine operators.

When thinking about industry in Northern Maine, most people assume that means wood products or potato farming – not metal manufacturing. So Smith & Wesson, as a high-volume precision metal machining facility, often generates positive interest and attention from the local community and from government agencies that want to help them to succeed. The Business Equipment Tax Exemption program, or BETE, for example, exempts eligible new equipment from property tax, encouraging investment in advanced manufacturing technology. Similarly, the Pine Tree Development Zone program offers a tax credit to certified businesses that hire new workers as they enter or expand in designated areas.

Firearms manufacturing is a long-standing New England specialty that employs thousands of people and contributes greatly to the local economy. To remain viable against global competition, gun-makers like Sig Sauer, Smith & Wesson and Ruger are taking advantage of advanced manufacturing techniques and technology to control costs and maintain the quality that the markets demand. State and local resources, including community colleges, are supporting these companies skills training and with incentives that help them expand and increase employment.