Rio Ammo Calls Texas Home

Industry INSIDER
The facility has the capacity to produce
a million shotshells a day, giving them the
ability to fill orders at a phenomenal rate
from either the sporting or law enforcement
market.
According to an article in the Longview
News-Journal Texas House Speaker Joe
Straus said the new plant was an example
Rio Ammo
Calls Texas
Home
ON JUNE 25 IN THE PRESENCE OF
representatives from the state of Texas, the
local community and Spain’s Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, Rio Ammunition inaugurated its new world class sporting cartridges
manufacturing facility in Marshall.
Requiring an investment in excess of
$19M, the new facility encompasses nearly
105,000 square feet of manufacturing
space. The facility has created 40 new jobs
in the Marshall community, and possibly
double that number in the years to come.
“This is a state of the art technology
facility from a quality, environment, safety,
and security point of view,” said José Fernando Sánchez who is Junco President and
CEO of MAXAM Outdoors. “Our goal
is for Rio Ammunition to add value and
progress to the city of Marshall and the
Rio, the largest manufacturer of shotgun shells in the world, has relocated
its U.S. Production facility from Tennessee to Texas.
state of Texas while
also providing shooters and hunters in the
U.S. with top quality
products and services.”
Working in conjunction with the state
of Texas and with the
cooperation of the city of Marshall
and the Marshall Economic Development
Corporation (MEDCO), this project has
received significant economic development
Construction of Rio’s
105,000 square-foot plant
outside Marshall took just
over a year to complete.
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support through substantial and generous
tax incentives.
U.S. Sen. John
Cornyn, R-Texas, and
Gov. Greg Abbott,
R-Texas, further
believe that with Texas’s status as a nationwide
leader in job creation the opening of the
new Rio factory also signals that the state
is open for business to future international
investment as well.
Rio Ammunition began its commercial
activities in the United States in 2001 by
importing from the MAXAM Outdoors
plant in Vitoria, Spain, and is now one of
the key players in the American shotgun
shell market
MAXAM Outdoors is a worldwide
leader in this sector with over 500 million
shotshells produced annually in its various
global facilities in Spain, the U.S., the
U.K., and Turkey, and an international
distribution network that operates in more
than 80 countries.
MAXAM Outdoors has a completely
integrated production chain that includes
both shotshell components (cases, primers, powder, wads, and lead shot) and raw
materials (nitrocellulose).
PHOTOS: MAXXAM
of growth occurring across the state, and
Rio’s presence would benefit the area.
“The people of Marshall have a new
way to provide for their families and work
in an exciting field,” he said. “Families
and businesses will benefit from this plant
whether they work here or not.”
Rio has had a presence in the US
domestic market since 2001. In 2009 they
opened the doors to their new loading plant
in Tennessee. Now with a major plant in
Texas, they are taking things to an entirely
new level.
“As far as our product range goes, we’ll
continue to push the envelope and strive
for the best in all realms
DIGITAL
of the industry and
BONUS
certainly for the hunters
of Texas,” said Rio’s
Take a
video tour
Patrick Thomas.
of Rio’s new
Rio plans to be
q
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Vertically integrated, the
plant manufactures all
key components of its
final products.
Texas
Facility.
a good neighbor to the state that has welcomed the company warmly.
In the past Rio has been involved with
the Boy Scouts and many charities. We
can expect that to happen as this state of
the art company branches out in the Lone
Star State.
• • •
Costa’s GEOBASS
Makes a Splash in Texas
THERE ARE FEW FISHING TEAMS
that have toured around the world like
the GEOBASS team.
Sponsored by Costa Sunglasses, the
GEOBASS team is four men who risk
life and limb to get to some of the best
fishing locations in the world. Once there
they challenge some of the world’s most
exotic bass with a fly rod.
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The team members are Brian Jill,
Chris Owens, Thad Robison, and Jay
Johnson.
I recently sat down with the team as
they came through Texas on a fishing
adventure for their series, available on
demand at costadelmar.com/geobass.
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