Take a trip to Ilion, N.Y. and you’ll understand why Remington guns are rugged, durable, and dependable. Charles Cooke of National Review has the story here:
It is thus fitting that the longest continuously operating manufacturer in North America is a gun maker. The Remington Arms Co., which has been in business for just shy of two centuries now, is also the oldest company in the United States that is still making its original product. “A free people,” advised George Washington, “ought to be armed.” Well, America has a lot of free people nowadays, and they appear to have taken Washington’s words to heart. Demand for guns has never been higher. At Remington, as in general, the firearms business is booming.
This is particularly good news for Ilion, N.Y., where Remington’s flagship factory has stood, in one form or another, since 1816. Ilion, which was evidently named during the general enthusiasm for all things classical that marked the early 19th century, is a hospitable little town of around 8,000 people.
“Nothing bad happens here,” Remington’s CEO, George Kollitides, tells me as we drive around. “And if it does, everybody knows about it.” He pauses before those last four words, as if reciting a joke. On cue, the rest of our party joins in: “Everybody knows about it!” A few months ago, I’m told, local police arrested a man at gunpoint in front of the factory gates. People are still talking about it.
