Mechanical Engineering Companies In Boston – Gunmaker Smith & Wesson, based in Springfield since its founding in 1852, announced Thursday that it will move its headquarters to Tennessee because of tough new gun laws recently proposed on Beacon Hill.
The company said it will open a new headquarters and assembly plant outside Knoxville in 2023, choosing a location based on its “unwavering support of the Second Amendment” as well as the low cost of doing business.
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“This was a very difficult and emotional decision for us,” CEO Mark Smith said in a call with investors on Thursday. “But after a thorough and thorough analysis, for the continued health and strength of our iconic company, we feel we have no other choice.”
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Smith & Wesson will move about 550 jobs from Springfield, but will keep its manufacturing plant and about 1,000 employees there. The company will begin work later this year on a new $120 million facility in Maryville, Tenn., which will house the company’s headquarters and new manufacturing plant. It will also close plants in Connecticut and Missouri, but one will remain in Maine.
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Bob Rolfe, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, said Smith & Wesson first reached out in the spring about the potential to expand its production there and said he believes the company is eyeing five other states. But it was his team, tasked with recruiting new businesses to the state, that first proposed the idea of moving the center at a dinner meeting in Tennessee, he said.
He said it took too long, because Smith & Wesson is a large, publicly traded company with a deep history in Massachusetts. But the company’s focus, he notes, comes with executives who will be involved in community and philanthropic efforts. They are worth a try.
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“This is a decision that no one makes lightly,” he said. “Do we always convert expansion into production in a new center? I’m not saying our batting average is close to 1,000 percent… But if you win one, it’s one more than the day before.”
And amid mounting pressure for stricter gun laws, Smith & Wesson has become increasingly controversial in deep-blue Massachusetts, despite its long roots here. In 2018, students across the state rallied outside the Springfield campus to call for stricter gun laws.
In 2018, students across the state protested outside the Smith & Wesson headquarters in Springfield, calling for stricter gun laws. Jessica Rinaldi
Massachusetts residents are already banned from buying AR-15-style semi-automatic rifles, but the guns can be manufactured here and sold across state lines. And in April, Democrats on Beacon Hill filed a bill that would ban the manufacture of certain types of weapons unless intended for sale to the military or law enforcement. If passed, it would keep Massachusetts-made assault weapons out of the hands of all private citizens.
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In its statement Thursday, Smith & Wesson pointed to that law — which it called “arbitrary and harmful” — as a key reason for its decision to leave Massachusetts. The company said the proposal would curb the production of firearms, which account for 60 percent of its sales.
But the measure never became law, nor did it get a hearing before the Democratic-dominated Legislature. Neither Senate President Karen E. Spilka nor House Speaker Ronald Mariano would comment publicly on the matter when it was posted. And in a statement Thursday, Mariano appeared to reject the company’s explanation.
“Smart business people don’t make big decisions, especially ones that lay off hundreds of people, based on one of the thousands of bills filed every session,” he said. Spilka did not return a request for comment Thursday.
Representative Marjorie Decker, a Cambridge Democrat who sponsored the gun bill, was more pointed in her criticism.
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“Smith and Wesson’s announcement today was recorded with as many holes as the target area. Even if their press release is politically favorable for them, it is nonsense,” he said. “It’s about cheap labor.”
And Rep. Bud Williams, a Democrat who represents Springfield and supported the bill, said Thursday that he was “disappointed” with Smith & Wesson for being a “typical, basic American company, thinking about money, not life.”
“It’s just greed, that’s all there is,” Williams said. “At some point, as a society, we have to make some difficult decisions. . . . At what stage does human life have value?
Demand for Smith & Wesson products soared last year, with the company’s net income surpassing $1 billion for the first time in its history.
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In announcing the move, the company also highlighted the increased availability of labor, the “convenient location for distribution” of its products and the lower cost of living and doing business in Tennessee, which has no state income tax. Rolfe said Tennessee has offered Smith & Wesson an incentive package for the transfer but those details will not be available to the public for another 30 days.
John Boyd, principal of corporate site selection firm The Boyd Co., said the move may have been driven by broader business reasons, but Beacon Hill politics and anti-Gan sentiment also played a role.
“A large employer does not want to feel that the legislation is against their mission and their bottom line,” he said.
For two centuries, the Connecticut River Valley in western Massachusetts and Connecticut was a center of the gun industry, even earning the nickname “Gun Valley.” But Smith & Wesson is the latest — and biggest — gunmaker to go south in recent years as Colt has gradually moved production from its longtime home in Hartford. In 2014 PTR Industries moved from Connecticut to South Carolina for new lines of firearms, and a few months ago another Springfield manufacturer, Troy Industries, announced it would be locating in Clarksville, Tenn.
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Smith & Wesson said workers affected by the move could be relocated to Tennessee, and those who chose not to move would be furloughed. No jobs will be affected for about two years, she said. Still, the move would eliminate about 550 jobs in Springfield, a loss that Mayor Domenic J. Sarno called “devastating.”
“My first priority will be to support these employees and their families in any way I can,” Sarno said in a statement.
Baker administration officials did not immediately return messages seeking comment Thursday, and it was unclear to what extent Massachusetts has negotiated to keep the Smith & Wesson headquarters in the state.
“Was there an eleventh hour attempt by the governor to release a stimulus package?” “There’s usually almost always a senior center position — but it’s obviously not an industry that Massachusetts is actively working on,” Dr Boyd said.
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At least some in the state won’t be upset that Smith & Wesson is going away. John Rosenthal, who heads the group Stop Handgun Violence and introduced the bill to restrict the manufacture of handguns in the state, called the news a “victory for public safety.”
“I hate to see Massachusetts lose jobs… But these are jobs that lead to blatant mass shootings,” he said. “Good riddance to Smith & Wesson as far as I’m concerned.”
Can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @anissagardizy8 and Instagram @anissagardizy.journalism. Emma Platoff can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @emmaplatoff. If you are considering a career in mechatronics, you may have questions about the potential salary that comes with it.
What is the average salary of someone working in mechatronics? Is it worth the effort and money invested in getting a degree in the discipline? Could this be a career move that will help me achieve my personal and professional goals?
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These are all common and common sense questions, and it’s wise to ask them before you enroll in a degree program or pursue this career path.
Below, we discuss the career outlook for those working in mechatronics and explore average salaries for various roles related to the field. We also look at the different ways you can start and develop your mechatronics career if you decide it’s the right decision for you.
The most common job title for professionals in the field is a mechatronic engineer. These individuals perform a variety of responsibilities across industries related to mechanical, electronic, and robotics engineering.
According to Glassdoor, the average annual salary for a mechatronics engineer as of August 2020 is around $72,323. Of course, this salary depends on many variables, including the industry a person works in, the size of the company, location, and how much experience they have.
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Of course, people working in the field of mechatronics are not limited to the role of mechatronics engineer. A person interested in mechatronics may have different job titles depending on their specific job
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