Geneseo gunmaker Springfield Armory expands facility, adds employees
Springfield Armory employees couldn't be more excited to move into their new 200,000 square foot facility on the northwest end of Geneseo. The move is tentatively scheduled for June.
Floor to ceiling windows are featured on the north side of the building. These overlook fields just to the north of the building, and a tree line along the Hennepin Canal. An outdoor break area is on the north side of the facility.
Manufacturing currently takes place in various locations across Geneseo. “Currently, Springfield Armory utilizes nine different buildings in the area, so this new facility will greatly increase efficiency and manufacturing capacity for the company. Having everything primarily under one roof will help immensely,” said Larry Collinson, Plant Manager for Springfield Armory.
The manufacturing process will involve a U-shaped pattern, starting from raw materials coming in and ending with shipping a finished product. Materials will be delivered at dock facilities on the east end of the building. Rooms are nearby for inspection of those materials. Once inspection is complete, the parts are taken to racking in the main building to hold components and feed manufacturing lines. An expansion of the machining department will increase threefold, bringing a number of outsourced parts back in-house.
Numerous other rooms off of the main assembly floor will contain additional robots, whose purpose is to sandblast, apply coatings and polish parts that have been machined. Robots are used for consistency, and are overseen by human supervisors. Polishing robots are increasing from two to six, tripling production. The expansion will increase to seven machines for engraving serial numbers onto firearms.
“This new facility allows for a great deal of growth for the company,” explained Cindy Griffin, Springfield Armory’s Vice President of Operations and Manufacturing. “This will create an even better work environment for our employees and allow for further expansion as needed in the future.”
Other things that drive local economy
An estimated 400 people are to be employed once the plant is in full production. To meet the needs of the new production facility, Springfield expects to hire 75 more production employees, consisting mainly of assemblers and machinists. In addition to high-quality medical and employee benefits, Springfield also provides various training programs as well as on the job training to help employees advance their careers.
The new facility will now contain multiple conference rooms, several break rooms in various areas of the new facility, a designated Maintenance Room, a First Aid/Nurse's office, all enhancements over the existing facility. There will also be an archive room, with prototypes and designs for every firearm manufactured from 1974 to date. This is to insure that when a firearm is brought in for warranty work, a working model is on hand, even if it is discontinued.
Every firearm is test fired before it leaves the facility. An indoor range is included in plans to facilitate this.
Phase II will break ground sometime in the Spring. Phase II will be a planned Administrative facility. Completion on that project is not expected until sometime in 2023.
The Springfield Armory origins
In 1794, the original Springfield Armory began manufacturing muskets for the defense of a fledgling US Military. The Armory functioned as a firearms supplier for every major American conflict until 1968 when the government closed its doors on being the primary manufacturer of armaments.
In 1974, nearly two centuries after its inception, Bob Reese of Geneseo revived the name and identity of Springfield Armory Inc. when he began manufacturing firearms in Geneseo, Illinois.
Bob Reese raised his boys around guns. His personal collection literally filled a room of the farmhouse they grew up in. Bob Reese also had a sideline whereby he would buy up surplus demilitarized firearms, salvage useable parts from them, and sell them.
In an interview with The Armory Life, Dennis Reese recalls he and his brothers " would get home from school and head out to the corn crib. Dad had set up little makeshift workbenches for us, and we would work weekdays after school and weekends pulling all the usable parts out and collecting them in buckets for Dad to sell. My mother and father would pay us 25 cents an hour for the work, and we thought we were making a fortune! It was a lot of hard work, but it was a great childhood."
Dennis Reese came home after two years of college, and decided that his field of study wasn't where he saw himself for the rest of his life. He still loved guns and shooting, so he talked with his father. Bob had a client in Texas who owed him some money, so he and his son took a road trip.
Bob and Dennis Reese later purchased the inventory and machining equipment of that gun manufacturer in San Antonio, Texas, and shipped back to Geneseo. The Reese family mortgaged the family farm and set up manufacturing operations in a storefront in downtown Geneseo, formerly the "Sunshine Snack Bar", a closed diner. They had a lot of army surplus M14 parts and began building what is known as the M1A rifle, a semi-automatic rifle that has proven iconic.
Springfield Armory has grown exponentially over the last 50 years, to become an internationally known leader in the firearms community.
The Reese family is appreciative of its' role in the community, and has a long tradition of charitable contributions to the local community.
Firearms for all functions
While Springfield Armory does cater to a variety of customers in the law enforcement, military and civilian communities, its primary customer base is civilian. The company’s wide variety of firearms are suited for roles ranging from hunting to recreational shooting to self-defense roles ensures there is a product there for practically any type of user.
Quality is the backbone of Springfield's reputation. Besides stringent standards in quality manufacture and rugged materials, like forged steel components, all firearms are backed with a lifetime warranty. Springfield also prides itself on a responsive customer service department.
Springfield Armory has an expansive line of offerings, and is always striving to develop new and exciting products for its fans. The line includes a broad range of handgun and rifle offerings developed for a variety of disciplines, from recreational shooting to hunting to self-defense needs. Included in the line is the iconic M1A rifle, the first offering from the company at its founding in 1974, and a semi-automatic rifle inspired by the U.S. Military’s M14 rifle.The M1A line has expanded since that first model to include a wide range of models available today — along with the original. Additional offerings include a wide range of SAINT AR-pattern firearms, 1911 pistols, the Model 2020 hunting rifle, numerous Hellcat pistol variants, the new Hellion bullpup rifle, and many more. Springfield is constantly working on new product development to stay ahead of trends in the market.
This article originally appeared on Geneseo Republic: Springfield Armory firearms to occupy new Geneseo Illinois building
