Smith & Wesson headquarters officially opens in Tennessee

MARYVILLE, Tenn. (WWLP) – Smith & Wesson has officially moved their headquarters to Tennessee this weekend after a grand opening with celebrity guest Si Robertson from “Duck Dynasty.”

The gun manufacturing company held a grand opening on Saturday at their new 650,000 square-feet headquarters in Maryville, Tennessee. In attendance was Blount County Mayor Ed Mitchell, U.S. Representative Tim Burchett and “Duck Dynasty” star Si Robertson.

During the event, Smith & Wesson President and CEO Mark Smith said “From where I stand, the next 170 years of Smith & Wesson are looking pretty good,” He added, “It is something special here in Tennessee.”

The company announced in September 2021 that it would relocate its headquarters from Massachusetts to East Tennessee, along with distribution, assembly and roughly 550 positions currently located in Springfield. A groundbreaking ceremony at the 240-acre headquarters campus was held in Partnership Park North in Maryville in November 2021.

Their move to East Tennessee created hundreds of new jobs in Tennessee. Although Springfield will be losing its headquarters and more than 500 positions, the company has said previously it plans to keep its Springfield location operational with some reconfigurations. This includes operations in forging, machining, metal finishing and assembling revolvers. Smith & Wesson will still have more than 1,000 employees in Massachusetts.

Since 1832, Smith & Wesson has been manufacturing guns in Springfield. However, with Massachusetts lawmakers contemplating legislation that would ban the manufacturing of semi-automatic rifles, Smith & Wesson made the decision to transition to Tennessee.

Back in 2021, Tennessee passed a law allowing most adults 21 and older to carry a handgun without a permit, but must first clear a state-level background check and training.