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Czech gun manufacturer to open North American headquarters in Little Rock

The company says it will ultimately hire 565 employees.

Arkansas officials say a Czech gun manufacturer will open its North American headquarters in Little Rock at a production plant that the company says will ultimately hire 565 employees. It’s the second jobs announcement in seven days for a weapons maker in Central Arkansas.

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Gov. Asa Hutchinson, along with Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott, said Tuesday, April 23, that CZ-USA, the U.S. arm of a Czech gun company, will invest up to $90 million over a six-year period to build and staff its second factory worldwide.

“We are very excited today because this is new, big chapter for our company,” said chairman Bogdan Heczko, adding that Little Rock felt like home when representatives from the more than 80-year-old company visited the city last year.

“We're excited,” said Arkansas Economic Development Commission Director Mike Preston. “We’ve got a lot going on, but this is pretty neat.”

Preston says the company will receive an incentive package from the state which includes forgivable loans, grants, tax rebates and tax refunds. The headquarters is moving Kansas City to a lot in the Port of Little Rock.

The company specializes in handguns, rifles and shotguns.

Construction begins almost immediately and follows an expansion last week at Sig Sauer's ammo facility in Jacksonville.

The Republican governor's big "gets" so far have been foreign owned, but Hutchinson would welcome American companies as well.

“Many of these companies that are in the northeast, that historically have connections there, that's not a very firearm friendly state,” the governor said last week. “They're passing laws that are more restrictive.”

As the industry expands, so far there has been little political backlash despite the raging gun debate across the country. Business leaders are focusing on the jobs being created.

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“We are all concerned about violence, but this about hope and opportunity for almost 600 local residents,” said Bryan Day, the director of the port authority, who added most of the new positions will pay an average of $22 per hour.

“What you saw today is a myriad of different relationships coming together on one accord to make certain that we did what was best for the state of Arkansas, the city of Little Rock and the entire central Arkansas Region,” said Mayor Scott, who said he was called to a meeting with the governor and company representatives soon after winning the election last December.

The Little Rock Chamber of Commerce is accepting applications on behalf of CZ-USA as construction gets underway almost immediately. Production is expected to begin in March 2020.

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