The Wyoming Business Council first met Kel-Tec several years ago at the Shot Show, an outdoor and shooting sports show in Las Vegas, Nevada. “We’ve been very proactive in trying to find ways to grow our economy and diversify and (have) done several different studies along the lines of how we can bring in new and emerging industries to fill some of these skill gaps that we have here.” “It’s our first big success as an organization in helping recruit in a company into southwest Wyoming, particularly Sweetwater County,” said McDonald. It took about five months for Kel-Tec to select Rock Springs, starting when the SEDC responded to a request for information from the Wyoming Business Council.Īccording to McDonald, the SEDC has been working since 2016 to market Sweetwater County and had wanted to be considered for the Natrium project which ultimately went to Kemmerer. This one didn’t really have a lot of changing the footprint from the existing oil and gas to what they’re going to need for the manufacturing side of things,” said McDonald. There are quite a few properties in Sweetwater County that are turnkey ready.

When Kel-Tec executives visited Rock Springs in March, the SEDC showed them three potential locations in Sweetwater County before the company settled on the facility at Blairtown Road. “They made the decision that they wanted to come out and look at properties and just do a site visit.” “We, about a week-and-half after submitting that project proposal, heard back from the business council, had a preliminary visit with the team at Kel-Tec via Zoom,” said McDonald. Project Cyclone, as it was called, revealed few details as to the business and focused only on the specifics of the project. McDonald told the Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday the first hint of Kel-Tec potentially expanding to Rock Springs came from a request for information from the Wyoming Business Council. The building, erected in 2005, is one of many oil and gas buildings in Sweetwater County which the SEDC has worked over the years to market for economic development. “Hopefully there’s some other industries that are looking, maybe even the ammunition or firearms manufacturing, that are looking to get into some of those more gun-friendly states or business-friendly states.”Īccording to McDonald, Kel-Tec has purchased a 33,000-square-foot facility in Rock Springs on Blairtown Road. We think this is going to spearhead a lot more growth in the manufacturing sector,” said McDonald.

The company made national news earlier this year when it donated 400 rifles at a value of $200,000 to aid the Ukrainian resistance against Russia’s invasion. Kel-Tec Firearms is a Florida-based company founded in 1991 by George Kellgren. Kel-Tec will eventually bring upwards of 250 jobs to Rock Springs and Sweetwater County. It seems to be working as Kel-Tec Firearms has announced it will be expanding its business to Rock Springs.Īccording to Kayla McDonald, economic development specialist for the Sweetwater Economic Development Coalition (SEDC), the firearms manufacturer hopes to be operational this fall. The Cowboy State has marketed itself as Second Amendment-friendly. ***For All Things Wyoming, Sign-Up For Our Daily Newsletter***

Kel tec official