BELLE, W.Va. (AP) — An ammunition company has announced plans to build a factory in West Virginia and add 400 jobs.
Austin-based Ranger Scientific said Tuesday in a news release that it has acquired 1,000 acres on a reclaimed mountaintop removal coal mine in eastern Kanawha County.
It says the $50 million facility will produce more than 500 million rounds of specialty rifle ammunition each year.
Ranger President and CEO Daniel Pearlson says the company chose West Virginia over six other states. According to media outlets, he says bullet manufacturing is expected to begin by 2018.
The company says the plant will mass produce “harmonically tuned” rifle ammunition, which is used in Olympic and other international competitions as well as by expert hunters and in specialized U.S. military applications. Those types of bullets reduce weapon vibration during firing.
Story has been corrected to locate Ranger in Austin.