Nosler, Inc. is a family owned manufacturer of premium component bullets, cartridge brass, ammunition and semi-custom rifles that has operated in Bend since 1958. Due to the recent purchase of Silver State Armory, increased demand in sales, new product lines and plans to take the company to the next level Nosler, Inc has expansion underway.
The company is in the midst of significant growth which has resulted in the decision to expand operations. In December 2014, Nosler Investments, LLC purchased land in Redmond at 2025 SW Sixth Street paying $869,000 for the property. A 30,000 square foot industrial building is currently under construction on 60 acres of land to expand their operations.
The building will be owned by Nosler Investments, LLC and is being built by Kirby Nagelhout Construction Company. Larry Blanton is the business development director overseeing the construction project and Jesse Oatman is the job site foreman. The architect is Commercial Industrial Design Architecture (CIDA) based in Portland, Oregon. Taylor NW is the only subcontractor.
Nosler has undergone several expansions in various phases but none quite as large as this. In 1958, the company moved from Ashland to Bend into a 6,000 square foot building. In the ‘90s they underwent a 10,000 square foot expansion to the main building and a 20,000 square foot warehouse was constructed just north of the main building in 2005. Nosler purchased the 20,000 square foot warehouse which was formerly the Mt. Bachelor bus barn just south of the main building in 2013. The Bend location is currently 80,000 square foot in total.
“The company is growing at a pace that will exceed the available space at the Bend site within the next few years. We are Central Oregonians, and have been working for nearly a year with our local economic development agencies to keep this company operating in Central Oregon,” Nosler CEO Bob Nosler said.
He added that the company is very excited by this expansion and the new opportunities it presents. “The recent acquisition allows us to produce our own partition cases and that is very important for expanding the business,” Nosler said.
Nosler has a commitment to keeping the company Central Oregon based. “Central Oregon has been our home since 1958 and will continue to be our home for the foreseeable future” said Nosler’s Public Relations Manager Zach Waterman. The expansion will result in at least 20 new manufacturing jobs locally.
Price and availability of land were major factors in Nosler’s selection of this location for expansion. The company has been happy about the enthusiasm with which Redmond has welcomed them.
“We are excited that Nosler has decided to make its expansion investment in the Redmond community. Nosler has a longstanding quality name in the ammunition and firearms industry and we are thrilled to know that the SSA brand by Nosler will be made here. The addition fits nicely into a growing industry cluster for Redmond, one that we wholly support,” said Jon Stark, director of Redmond Economic Development Inc.
The purchase of this new property and subsequent expansion comes as a result of Nosler Investments, LLC 2013 acquisition of the Washington based company Silver State Armory which produced the need for expansion to house the company’s ammunition and cartridge brass casings operations.
Waterman explained that “Nosler, Inc acquired Silver State Armory a couple years ago and this expansion site will house the main operations of this new product line.”
Plans call for moving machinery out of Nosler’s plant on SW Columbia Street in Bend and also refurbished machinery from Silver State Armory to the new facility in Redmond.
Construction on the Redmond industrial building will be completed in December 2015. “The new site will house Nosler’s component brass and ammunition manufacturing which will allow for further growth in that division” said Waterman. The expansion will also allow for more production space in Bend.
The 60 acre Redmond site will allow Nosler to expand their operations in Bend. The Bend plant will increase its manufacturing of bullets and the new SSA by Nosler dedicated product line focusing on “brass and ammunition specifically tuned for semi-automatic firearms” which resulted from the Silver State Armory acquisition, according to the Nosler website.
With the company motto of “Quality First” Nosler is best known worldwide for revolutionizing big game hunting with its world famous Partition and Ballistic Tip bullets. The introduction of the Partition bullet in 1948 initially gave Nosler a reputation in the industry. The company’s dedication to an innovative product line has continued to enhance their stellar reputation. Nosler, Inc now offers over a dozen specialized lines of rifle and pistol bullets in addition to their own line of hunting rifles.
The future is bright for Nosler, Inc as they plan to maintain a commitment to manufacturing the industry’s highest quality shooting products. The company continues to produce an innovative product line that increases consumer demand and sustainable long term growth. The recent acquisition and expansion will provide the company more opportunities for innovation, manufacturing and distribution.
Nosler, Inc LLC
107 SW Columbia St., Bend OR 97709,
2025 SW Sixth Street, Redmond, OR 97759
www.nosler.com
CEO/Owner: Bob Nosler
Employees: 170
Year established: 1948
Products/Services: Manufacturer of premium component bullets, brass, ammunition, and semi-custom rifles
Hot News: Nosler, Inc expanding operations with new 30,000 square foot facility in Redmond.
(Photo above: Kirby Nagelhout Construction Company Business Development Director Larry Blanton gives his crew instructions at the Nosler expansion job site | Photo by David Clewett)
