St. Cloud gun manufacturer moving to Alabama

A tactical and sporting rifle manufacturer in St. Cloud is moving its operations south.

DPMS Panther Arms, which employs more than 100 people in St. Cloud, is one of a several plants that parent company Remington plans to consolidate into one large factory in Huntsville, Alabama.

Remington officials announced the move Wednesday.

"We are working hard to retain as many people from the affected facilities as possible," said company spokesman Teddy Novin.

In a testimony before a Minnesota house panel last year during debate over a possible assault weapons ban bill, Panther production manager Adam Ballard said his company employed 115 full-time workers and paid millions a year in state and local taxes.

The state government, at the time, was debating a possible assault weapons ban, which never passed.

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