(The Center Square) – A firearms manufacturer that first located in Arkansas seven years ago said Friday it is expanding and adding 625 new jobs over the next five years.
SIG SAUER opened its Jacksonville plant in 2016 with 50 jobs and currently employs 348, according to information from Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ office. Jacksonville is part of the Little Rock metropolitan area.
The expansion includes a new 250,000-square-foot building that will house its manufacturing parts. Company officials said the investment is $150 million.
“This opportunity has proven itself essential to the growth and sustainment of our ammunition business, and further enforces our commitment to the Arkansas community and workforce,” said Ron Cohen, president and CEO of SIG SAUER, Inc.
The expansion is a testament to Arkansas’ business-friendly climate, said Clint O’Neal, executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.
“SIG SAUER is a major part of our state’s firearms and ammunition industry, and we are proud that this global leader continues to expand in Jacksonville,” O’Neal said.
The report comes on the heels of a report showing Arkansas’s business index is in a slight decline from 58.9 to 59.5 in August, according to the Mid-America Manufacturing Index from Creighton University. Exports were also down slightly compared to 2022, falling from $3 million in 2022 to $2.9 million this year.
The state’s unemployment rate is 2.7%, with about 57.7% of the population participating in the workforce, according to the Division of Workforce Services.
