American Outdoor Brands Corporation, a leading provider of quality products for shooting, hunting, and rugged outdoor enthusiasts, announced March 2 plans to potentially establish a national distribution center in the Columbia area of Boone County, Missouri. Under the plans, the company would break ground on the new 500,000 sq. ft. facility in the next several months. The company's plans to establish the new facility in Boone County are contingent upon the approval of incentives, completion of due diligence, and the finalization of agreements related to other terms and conditions.
The company's application for Chapter 100 Revenue Bonds was presented to the impacted taxing district representatives on March 3, and a vote on recommending the application to the Boone County Commission was taken March 21. The taxing districts voted unanimously to recommend the application. The application was approved by the Boone County Commission on April 18.
If all contingency requirements are met, construction for the new site is expected to begin this spring and would take approximately 18 months to complete. When complete, it is expected that the center would serve as the central distribution facility for most of American Outdoor Brands' products, allowing the company to harvest synergies from its acquisitions and more efficiently serve its customers. The company is working closely with Missouri Department of Economic Development, Regional Economic Development Inc., and Boone County on the development of the project.
James Debney, President and CEO of American Outdoor Brands, said, "We continue to focus on our vision of being a leading provider of high quality products for the shooting, hunting, and rugged outdoor enthusiast. By executing our strategy and delivering growth organically and through targeted acquisitions, we have successfully grown to multiple operating divisions that serve a large addressable market and represent more than 18 respected consumer brands. Establishing a national distribution center will allow us, over time, to harvest synergies across our business. Our meetings with representatives of Missouri and Governor Greitens demonstrated that they are business-friendly and understand what we need as a company to be successful."
American Outdoor Brands Corporation (NASDAQ Global Select: AOBC) is a provider of quality products for shooting, hunting, and rugged outdoor enthusiasts in the global consumer and professional markets. The Company reports two segments: Firearms and Outdoor Products & Accessories. Firearms manufactures handgun and long gun products sold under the Smith & Wesson®, M&P®, and Thompson/Center Arms™ brands as well as provides forging, machining, and precision plastic injection molding services. Outdoor Products & Accessories provides shooting, hunting, and outdoor accessories, including reloading, gunsmithing, and gun cleaning supplies, tree saws, vault accessories, knives, laser sighting systems, tactical lighting products, and survival and camping equipment. Brands in Outdoor Products & Accessories include Smith & Wesson®, M&P®, Thompson/Center Arms™, Crimson Trace®, Caldwell® Shooting Supplies, Wheeler® Engineering, Tipton® Gun Cleaning Supplies, Frankford Arsenal® Reloading Tools, Lockdown® Vault Accessories, Hooyman® Premium Tree Saws, BOG POD®, Golden Rod® Moisture Control, Schrade®, Old Timer®, Uncle Henry®, UST®, and Imperial™. For more information on American Outdoor Brands Corporation, call (844) 363-5386 or log on to www.aob.com.
