MANITOWOC, Wis.(WFRV)- Ammo Incorporated held a groundbreaking ceremony at the construction site for their brand new state-of-the-art plant in Manitowoc. “We sat there and said we’re gonna start an ammunition company and I think I was the only guy in the room that had a gun,” said Fred Wagenhals, Chairman and CEO of Ammo Inc. Wagenhals addressed a crowd of about 20 people during the ceremony.

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The Arizona based company chose Manitowoc because of what the city had to offer. “The city council really stepped up to make this a reality,” said Justin Nickels, mayor of Manitowoc. Nickels is excited about the new opportunities this development will bring. ” A lot of our growth has been from the homegrown companies and that’s our bread and butter. It’s great to see a company from outside the area see the value in Manitowoc,” said Nickels.

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During the COVID-19 pandemic last year, there was an extreme backlog of ammunition orders. Ammo Inc. hopes the new facility will help them catch up on those orders when it is completed next year. “We’re 200 million in back orders right now in ammunition. We can’t make it fast enough,” said Tod Wagenhals, Executive Vice President of Ammo Inc. Wagenhals says they already have a space on a property near the new location, and the consolidation into one new building is better for the company and consumers. “In the past we had to ship all of our products from Arizona. It is just natural for us to build and stay right here in the city of Manitowoc,” said Wagenhals.

Ammo Inc. hopes to have construction completed in early 2022 under budget. For more information on Ammo Inc, visit their website. The new location is at 6301 Custer Street in Manitowoc. Over the next five years, the company expects to add over 300 jobs at that location.