Remington is now headquartered in North Carolina and has seven factories in different states. It returned to its role as military arms supplier during the two World Wars. After the war, the company shifted its client base to hunters and western frontier settlers. He left the company to his three sons, who became major suppliers to the Union Army. Remington II died at the outset of the Civil War. That factory, which got its start producing thousands of guns for the Army, forms the economic foundation of Ilion and much of the surrounding Mohawk Valley. The company still produces guns at a sprawling brick factory in Illion, New York, that has existed since the mid-1800s. The Italian company Beretta has been making guns since 1526.Īccording to company history, Remington II "handcrafted his first rifle barrel at his father's forge, and carried it to Utica to have a local gunsmith fabricate it into a flintlock rifle." That was the start of a business that led him to forge and sell his rifles to gunsmiths throughout the country. Gun makers with an older history can be found in Europe. That makes it decades older than competitors Colt's Manufacturing and Smith and Wesson, which is now owned by American Outdoor Brands. Remington was founded in 1816 in New York by Eliphalet Remington II. The iconic brand has a long and storied history as an economic anchor in the central New York community where it was founded, and as a critical arms supplier through several major wars.īut like other gun manufacturers, it has struggled in recent years with lagging sales, profits and share prices. NEW YORK (CNNMoney) - The bankruptcy of Remington marks a blow to the gun industry and the decline of one of America's oldest gun companies.