Jim Gaines

USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

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 four-year 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.

He also doesn’t consider Florida a “manufacturing state,” but said he believes Tennessee is.

Holt, likewise, said SCCY is looking for “intelligent and industrious people,” which he found lacking in the Florida workforce. The company looked all over the Southeast for a new location before settling on Blount County, Holt said.

After its move and expansion, SCCY will begin making two additional series of handguns, and so will have products in lower, middle and upper price ranges, Holt said.

The company is probably the fastest-growing semiautomatic handgun maker in the country, and focuses on providing high quality, he said.

The firearms industry is one of the top types of companies Blount County seeks to recruit, said Bryan Daniels, Blount Partnership president and CEO.

Blount County Mayor Ed Mitchell said he’s a “satisfied customer” of SCCY, and testified to the gun’s quality.

Maryville Mayor Tom Taylor praised the company and Roebuck, saying SCCY’s employees will push to improve the community as a whole.

"I think that's something we really value coming into the city of Maryville,” Taylor said.

Roebuck said SCCY offers a “perpetual warranty” on its products — which stays with the gun, not the first owner. For example, he said, one customer dropped his SCCY handgun in a lake while fishing, retrieving it when the lake was drained, and SCCY replaced the pistol for free.

Other state officials praised the announcement Wednesday.

“In Tennessee, we pride ourselves on craftsmanship and manufacturing excellence,” Gov. Bill Haslam said in a news release. “Our skilled workforce is known for producing some of the world’s best-known products and brands. I’m pleased that SCCY has chosen to join the growing roster of manufacturing companies that call Tennessee home. The creation of over 350 new jobs with this investment brings us closer to our goal of making Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs.”

State Sen. Doug Overbey, R-Maryville, added his endorsement.

“This is great news for Blount and Sevier Counties,” Overbey said in a news release. “This is a sizable investment and I am very pleased that these jobs will be located in our Senate district. I am also pleased that industries see the remarkable workforce and quality of life that is available here. I congratulate SCCY Industries and all our state and local officials who helped secure these jobs. We will continue to make job creation our top priority.”