Freedom Group acquires Para Ordnance. My thoughts (Vlog)

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http://blip.tv/altac6/vlog-2-1-2012-freedom-group-acquires-para-ordnance-5926730


(Source on the acquisition: http://militarytimes.com/blogs/gearscout/2012/01/30/freedom-group-buys-para-ordnance/ )

Bottom line? This probably will suck for Para Ordnance's quality control for the next few years, since there's some talk from recently-unemployed ParaOrd employees that they are NOT going to continue day to day operations at their current facility. But I don't think Freedom Group is actually bad for the industry as a whole.
 
I agree, the Freedom Group is doing a lot to increase the sales of the companies they don't own. When it's all said and done, I wonder if Cerberus will be as successful with their gun companies as they were running Chrysler?
 
I'm surprised I haven't heard theories that Freedom Group is a Joyce Foundation scheme to destroy the Second Amendment by attacking the supply side.

Para-Ordnance's quality control was already kinda ehhhhhhh, no?
 
But I don't think Freedom Group is actually bad for the industry as a whole.
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I'm curious why you feel that way? I don't really buy the conspiricy theories about them, but they do seem to be making... questionable buisness decisions.

I'm not really all that familiar with them or their other subsidiaries beyond the effect that had in buying Marlin, which seems to be bordering on catastrophically bad as far as the old marque goes (many former products now OOP, many former customers refusing to buy new guns). If one can believe the reports on the internet, at best they have degraded the production quality of every firearms brand they aquired. At worst, they are on the verge of driving some into potential failure.

If that's not bad for the industry, it certianly does not sound good :scrutiny:.
 
I think I explained my position pretty well in my video, but in summary:

Freedom Group, in order to make more profits from selling guns, has worked pretty hard to expand the market for firearms, and they have succeeded.

With the increased demand and larger market, OTHER companies are able to sustain themselves by competing with Freedom Group.
 
Maybe they'll move the Para tooling to China & take over the world, like Pinky & the Brain. The last 4 Para guns I personally owned really soured me on Para's ability to actually make a gun worth all the pretty money they want for it. I recall the last 4 Para 9mm guns I sold, they were all sent back for repair, pretty sad odds for a gun that is supposed to retail over $800
 
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NOTE: I have not had a chance to watch your video yet.

Freedom Group, in order to make more profits from selling guns, has worked pretty hard to expand the market for firearms, and they have succeeded.
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Are there sales figures available that actually show the sales of the companies they aquire going up? I would be terribly supprised if Marlin's sales have gone anywhere but down the toilet, but perhaps I am just hearing the small but vocal percentage of customers who get a Marlemon, and not the vast but silent majority who are satisfied with their guns?
 
Even if the actual companies that Freedom Group acquires don't do as well (although they seem to be doing well enough), the increased demand enables other companies to expand and succeed.
 
Yeah, Freedom Group has done great things with Marlin. (Ahem, cough, cough, eccchhh........):barf:
 
Further clarification that I've uncovered.

The idea that Para Ordnance is being packed up and moved came from an email from Kerby Smith, former director of communications for PARA USA, saying that the company he has worked for is 'no longer active'.

Important to note that there is a distinction between Para Ordnance (in Scarborough, Ontario Canada) and Para USA (Pineville, NC).

As such I believe that there is no longer any actual sign that Para Ordnance's factory is being packed up and moved, but their US headquarters has been shut down.
 
Can somebody show me a company acquired by Freedom that is making high quality firearms with excellent quality control and customer service? All of the companies I know of have seen quality decline along with a growing number of very unhappy customers. Slick marketing campaigns only boost sales for a short time.
 
"Freedom Group, in order to make more profits from selling guns, has worked pretty hard to expand the market for firearms, and they have succeeded."

I just don't see that FG has expanded the market. The demand for guns is up, but I don't see what FG had to do with it.

Looking through some of their financial reports is an interesting exercise. Here's one

www.freedom-group.com/FGI-2011-Q3.pdf

John
 
Have these companies declined in service and product since being acquired by FGI?

Or, is it that the companies were all ready in decline, making them marks for acquisition?

In addition, can anyone comment on how, exactly, ownership by FGI has significantly changed any of these companies in terms of their product and service? We all know what happened with Bushmaster moving and getting all new employees, but what about the other dozen firearms company acquisitions?
 
i don't understand all the hate towards freedom grp, i don't see anything wrong with consolidating small companies to compete with big ones, even more power to fight for 2A. and i haven't seen any concrete evidence of any products that are worse under it, only comments on the internet out of thin air.

bushmaster/remington bought by freedom grp now have the ability to make ACR and can compete with colt for army's next rifle, not possible before. competition is always good, time to rock the boat owned by colt for so long and our soliders in the battle field suffer from it.
 
I, too, think it's a good deal that there is a large company in the firearms business. The power and synergies of having so many companies in house could eventually be a very, very good thing depending on how FGI operates.
 
"We all know what happened with Bushmaster moving and getting all new employees"

Do you mean an example such as what happened when Remington moved Marlin's centerfire lever action production to a Remington plant and let the Marlin employees go? Do you mean how Remington had to stop production to try to sort out why so many fouled up guns were going out the door?


www.marlinowners.com/forum/marlin-rant-forum/
 
"could eventually be a very, very good thing depending on how FGI operates."

Now we're back to Chrysler. We know how Cerberus fouled that up and lost control. I wonder who decided to hire the former head of Home Depot to run a car company?

But that's old history, Cerberus only had Chrysler for 2 years or so before tucking tail and running. We will see if they can figure out how to run a bunch of gun companies.

Fiat's Super Bowl Chrysler ad with Clint Eastwood was a work of art.
 
Short term profits, quality, and low prices don't go hand in hand. Does anyone know if these acquisitions were friendly or hostile? I am glad I bought my Bushmaster AR years ago if they go the same way as Marlin, my gunsmith almost has a coronary burst when he starts talking about the lost quality of Marlin....
 
Just a thaught

The old adage of don't put all your eggs in one basket....one holder owning all those firearms companies is a scary thing. Have any former Bushmaster fans checked out Windham Weaponry yet? I just received their dealer package and may give them a try.
 
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