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V O L . X X I N O. X X I V O C T O B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 5 18 buyers who want to avoid possible new gun restrictions. Sales then decline when the memory of the incidents isn't as fresh, according to Wall Street experts. Skilled tech jobs While other companies in Houlton, like Bison Pumps, have a few CNC machines, Smith & Wesson has bay upon bay of them to churn out the high-precision gun slides. As Allen sees it, that means skilled jobs with good wages. "We run the same machines and parts in northern Maine as in Springfi eld and at the same rate and productivity," he says. It takes from 12 to 24 months to design a gun with a proper working design, perfect quality, durability and that will sell at a good price, Allen says. " ere is a lot of engineering on the front end of the injection moldings," he adds. e poly-frame police gun weighs about 30 ounces, which is 10 ounces less than a steel gun. It also costs about $300 less, he says. Even that diff erence in weight can make a diff erence for a law enforcement offi cer, whose utility belt can weigh 25 pounds to 30 pounds. Clint Eastwood's .44 Magnum in the "Dirty Harry" movies weighed in at a whopping 55 ounces, says Allen, noting that Smith & Wesson still makes that type of gun. "So the poly-frame guns weigh less and they cost less to produce," he says. "And you get a lot more detail out of the injection mold." Allen says the company has a low turnover rate of employees, but fi nding and keeping skilled CNC work- ers can be a challenge. Smith & Wesson has hired more than a dozen graduates of Northern Maine Community College in Presque Isle over the last 10 years. e school has a two-year precision metals programming course. It also has partnered with a community college in Peoria, Ill., near Caterpillar and other large man- ufacturers. at school has a CNC training program that teaches students how to repair the machines. "We're an oddity in northern Maine with this type of manufacturing," says Allen. " is area is known mostly for wood, farming and potato processing. But in the last 40 years we've shown you can do high- precision machining and manufacturing not unlike what is being done in southern New England. And we do it cost-competitively." 1852: Founded through a partnership between Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson, who played a key role in ending the era of muzzle-loading fi rearms. 1857: First revolver made in Springfi eld, Mass. It included a "rimfi re" cartridge with repeating action and an open cylinder, and was manufactured with interchangeable parts. The gun was adopted by the U.S. military, and high demand caused the company's 25-per- son workshop to move into a new factory and expand its workforce to 600. 1860s: Demand for company's revolvers increased during the Civil War, but dropped dramatically after the war due to the ensu- ing recession. 1873: Smith retired and sold his interest in the company to Wesson. 1899: Smith & Wesson introduced its most famous revolver, the .38 Military & Police. 1941: By 1941 the company's factory was fully dedicated to World War II production. 1946: C.R. Hellstrom became president of the company, the fi rst person outside the Wesson family to run the company. 1960s: The company was still mostly con- trolled by the Wesson family, with some stock selling over-the-counter. For the year ended June 1965, it posted earnings of $1.5 million on sales of $10.4 million. 1965: The company was bought for $22.6 mil- lion by Bangor Punta Alegre Sugar Corp., a con- glomerate based in Bangor with operations in railroads, foundry equipment and other items. How Smith & Wesson became world's top handgun maker 1970s: Under Bangor Punta's control, Smith & Wesson expanded into areas related to handguns and handcuffs, including riot-control equipment. 1977: The U.S. fi rearms industry grew slowly during the 1970s, but with its grip on the law enforcement market and its effi cient, modern plants, Smith & Wesson was able to post operating profi ts of $18.4 million on sales of $84 million for the year ended September 1977. 1980s: The early 1980s marked the company's foray into making 9mm semiautomatic pistols for the U.S. military and law enforcement. 1984: Bangor Punta sold Smith & Wesson to Lear Siegler Corp. of California in January 1984. Smith & Wesson divested many noncore areas and focused on handguns, handcuffs and police Identi-Kits. 1986: For the fi scal year ended June 1986 the company reported operating profi ts of $14.1 million on sales of $116 million, down 41% from profi ts in 1982. Smith & Wesson again changed ownership in December 1986 when leveraged buyout special- ist Forstmann Little & Co. led a group that took Lear Siegler private and created a new holding company called Lear Siegler Holdings Corp. 1997: In June 1997, UK conglomerate Tomkins Plc. bought Smith & Wesson for $112.5 million. 2001: In May 2001 Saf-T-Hammer Corp. bought Smith & Wesson for a mere $15 million. 2002: In February 2002 the company's name became Smith & Wesson Holding Corp., and remains so today. 2015: Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: SWHC) reported net sales of $552 million for fi scal year 2015 ended April 30, down almost 12% from a year earlier. However, things turned up in the fi scal fi rst quarter ended July 31, when quarterly net sales were $148 million, up 12% from a year earlier. S O U R C E : Smith & Wesson website » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E

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