A reformed and much smaller Remington is slowly moving towards restarting its historic production line in New York, with plans for the 870 shotgun to be its first product. 

As previously reported, the new RemArms Company has recently received its federal firearms license and rehiring laid-off workers at Remington's flagship Ilion, New York, plant. According to local media, the new company with the oldest name in American firearms has had office staff at work for the past two weeks, with maintenance staff and line workers still expected to be coming in over the next month. 

The goal, according to Richmond Italia, RemArms CEO, is to have finished product coming off the assembly line by March 5.

“We’re trying to push the schedule as fast as we can, so obviously everybody was ready to come to work, and we figured, you know what, give them a couple of extra weeks to get everything back together again,” said Italia.

While there are reports of labor issues with the facility – when the shop was up and running last year it had long been unionized – Cecil Roberts, president of the United Mine Workers of America, said there are currently no plans to strike at the Ilion plant. 

“No one wants to see that plant reopen, and reopen as fast as possible, more than the UMWA and the people we represent,” said Roberts.

RemArms was formed last year from a slice of the old Remington Outdoors Company that was auctioned away in a federal bankruptcy court last September. While other elements of the brand went to Vista Outdoors, Ruger, Sierra, and others, the Ilion plant and a pistol barrel facility in Tennessee were acquired by Italia's Roundhill Group for approximately $13 million. 

As noted by Shooting Illustrated, the Italia said the 870, Remington's immensely popular pump-action shotgun, which first entered production in 1950, will be the first gun off the line in 2021.