GALLATIN, Tenn. (AP) – Italian gun maker Beretta on Friday celebrated the opening of its new manufacturing and research facility in suburban Nashville and announced that it will begin making the U.S. Armed Forces M9 handgun at the plant this summer.
Tennessee lured Beretta’s firearms manufacturing from Maryland after the company raised objections to a wide-ranging gun control measure enacted there in the aftermath of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Connecticut that left 26 dead.
“Firearms are an important part of the culture in the United States, the culture of the outdoors and self-defense,” said Franco Gussalli Beretta, the executive vice president of Beretta USA. “So we were thinking it was important to develop our future business in a part of the country where all these concepts are clear and respected.”
Republican Gov. Bill Haslam, who lauded the decision to choose Tennessee, said after the ceremony in Gallatin, about 30 miles northeast of Nashville, “They had questions about staying in Maryland because they didn’t really feel appreciated there.” Haslam added, “Obviously in Tennessee we take great pride in the Second Amendment and we were proud to have a company like Beretta move here.”
Tennessee provided more than $10 million in capital and training grants as part of the incentive package to bring the $45 million facility to the state. About 75 people are working at the new facility now, and that number is expected to grow to 300 in the next few years.