New Gunpowder, Primer Production In Arkansas
What’s in the water in Arkansas? The Natural State might not be known for much besides being Bill Clinton’s home base, but over the past few years, it has become a center of ammunition production. The latest news on this front: D&M Holding Company (who?) has announced a new factory in Des Arc, Arkansas.
Ammo component articles @ TFB:
- Where Have All The Primers Gone? A Closer Look at the Primer Shortage
- TFB Podcast Roundup 40: The ATF, Primers, and Range Etiquette
- [SHOT 2024] Inceptor Ammunition Delivers on the Reloading Market with Component Bullets
- TFB Armorer's Bench: How I Make Dummy Rounds
Who are D&M Holding Company?
D&M Holding is the parent company behind White River Energetics. While not a common name like Federal or Winchester or Hornady, White River Energetics makes primers—according to their website, they manufacture “Small Pistol, Large Pistol, Small Rifle and Large Rifle Primers using the traditional Lead Styphnate process.”
They ship to customers both national and international, so presumably some of the ammo you see on the shelf at your LGS comes from White River Energetics.
Expansion plans
D&M Holding says they are investing $70M to expand the White River Energies plant. They’re building a factory to make single-base smokeless propellant—something that’s very much in demand right now.
“Currently, there is a worldwide shortage of smokeless propellant that is affecting munitions availability globally,” said Dan Powers, D&M’s president/CEO. “This will be the first single-base propellant factory to be built in the United States in over 50 years.”
Definitely good news for the U.S. arms and ammo manufacturing industry, and good news for the town of Des Arc. The White River plant already has 125 employees, and the expansion (which takes the facility from 14,000 square feet to 100,000 square feet) will create 100 new jobs. According to D&M, the expansion should be done in early 2026. Will that ease the component shortage in the U.S. market? Maybe not for everyone, but it’s good to see American domestic manufacturing move forward. And it’s good news for Arkansas, where Fiocchi and Sig Sauer have also expanded in recent years.
Photo: D&M Holding
Professional hoser with fudd-ish leanings.
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Dang. I was hoping for 2400 and Unique. Single base mean that idea is out.
Interesting, some White River rifle primers recently landed in South Africa, probably for the first time ever