Taurus Targets Georgia Location for Long-term Success
Uprooting and moving an entire manufacturing operation is not for the faint of heart. Unless the results mean greater profits, the time and expense of searching for a more advantageous location, constructing a new facility and training a new workforce—all while incurring a profit-risking gap in production time—can often be better spent enhancing existing resources.
But for Taurus USA, that move is paying off, thanks to a chance remark overheard by the right person, a hurricane, and subsequent, proactive support from the State of Georgia and the community Taurus chose as its new home.
Taurus makes defensive, competition and hunting firearms. It is one of the top five handgun manufacturers in both production and sales volume in the U.S., and one of the three largest small arms manufacturers in the world. Since 1982, Taurus International Manufacturing, a division of Brazilian company Taurus Armas, had been based in Miami, but the company was outgrowing its location.
A 73-acre greenfield site on which Taurus could custom-build a 205,000-square-foot corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility, along with easy truck access to its U.S. and Canadian markets, were two of the deciding factors in the company’s move from Florida to Bainbridge, Georgia, according to Vice President of Operations David McCallum. In total, Taurus invested $22.5 million in the facility, where it manufactures the Taurus and Heritage product lines and from which it imports and distributes its Brazilian-made Rossi brand. The Georgia plant opened in December 2019 and produced around 400,000 units during its first year in operation.
Most importantly, says McCallum, not only was an enthusiastic, eager workforce available, but the state and community were able to provide the training resources necessary for the plant to start operations the day it opened.
“Training was the big piece, and Georgia Quick Start and Southern Regional Technical College, both units of the Technical College System of Georgia, were a very big help,” McCallum states. “Quick Start developed curriculum, and we were able to set up assembly lines at the college before the factory was completed. Workers got both classroom study and a couple of weeks on the line where they practiced manufacturing the product, so they were able to make salable products as soon as the building opened. That gave us the advantage of not losing production and sales during the year we were moving.”
Taurus President and CEO Bret Vorhees praises the community support and great work ethic the company found in Georgia.
“Everywhere you go, people approach you. They see our lanyards and they’re happy we’re here. We’ve had tremendous support in the community. People are interested in the product and eager to work, so we find it easy to hire and continue to grow,” he says.
Georgia Made™, a Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) program that provides additional support in logistics, manufacturing and marketing of products produced in Georgia, will help Taurus attract and retain local suppliers, enabling its supply chain to remain quick and flexible, Vorhees believes.
It was that local interest and a “can-do” attitude, in addition to the business advantages, that convinced Taurus to locate in South Georgia, according to Rick McCaskill, executive director of the Development Authority of Bainbridge and Decatur County.
“An unusual circumstance brought the company to us, but it was as the result of a concerted effort by the Development Authority to cultivate a business network that could generate leads,” recounts McCaskill. “Tim Smith, the owner of a local hunting plantation, had a business relationship with Taurus’s previous chief financial officer and invited him and his family to stay at the plantation when a hurricane threatened South Florida.
“During their visit, Tim learned that Taurus was searching for a new manufacturing location. He invited me to lunch, I met the CFO and it took off from there. While we were visiting a potential location site, the CFO heard shooting from a law enforcement firing range nearby, which intrigued him because Taurus had been finding it difficult to locate a community in which they could build an outdoor firing range to test their products. Bainbridge could provide them that opportunity.”
The Georgia Department of Economic Development, the development authority and organizations from the chamber of commerce to the local hospital to the technical college all pitched in to showcase Georgia’s advantages for Taurus. Meetings were set up with Quick Start and the Georgia Department of Labor to help the company find and train its workforce.
“It was a great opportunity,” says Vorhees. “The whole package presented to us was far better than anything we had found and has helped us establish a long-term business here. Opening the factory in Georgia signals a new era for our company. We have some great plans and the effort to move our company here was vital to our success. I would encourage any CEO considering Georgia to give it a strong look: the level of support from the state and its communities is outstanding. It’s important to our industry to have support for the product we’re making and Georgia offers that to us.”
Consistently ranked the “#1 State for Business,” Georgia’s skilled workforce, reliable infrastructure, low taxes, high state credit ratings, and development resources are here to help you start and grow your business. Visit Georgia Made™ to take the next step in expanding your success.