WINDHAM — Bushmaster Firearms International will close its production facility in Windham, which employs 73 people, at the end of March, according to members of Maine’s congressional delegation.
“We are deeply concerned about the announced closure of Bushmaster’s plant in Windham and the burden it will have on those affected workers, their families and the Windham community,” said a prepared statement released today from the offices of Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe.. “The company has provided good jobs to workers in the Windham area, and the facility’s closure will be a great economic loss to southern Maine.”
Bushmaster and parent company Freedom Group Inc., based in Madison, N.C., did not return phone calls for comment.
Bushmaster makes a host of high-caliber, long-barreled and short-barreled rifles. Bushmaster guns are made from aluminum and advanced carbon fiber, according to the company’s website.
Founded in 1973, Bushmaster products are used by police departments and law enforcement agencies, private security firms and the militaries of 50 countries. Bushmaster says its products are used for hunting, recreational and competition shooting and home defense.
Bushmaster made news in August when Windham quarry owner R.J. Grondin & Sons proposed building an indoor firing range on their land to be used for weapons testing by Bushmaster. The proposal followed months of complaints by residents about noise from weapons testing by Bushmaster.
Bushmaster’s shooting range at the quarry had a 30-foot-tall berm lined with sand. Machine gun rounds were fired into the berm. For added safety, Grondin built 25-foot-high berms on both sides of the 30-foot wall.
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