I have mixed feelings about this.

Alexander Industries, a manufacturer of firearms and ammunition, will invest $2.88 million to relocate and expand its operations in Dublin Industrial Park in Pulaski County,Virginia, with plans to create 64 jobs.

Established in 2001 the company is best known for development of the .50 Beowulf and 6.5 Grendel cartridges and more recently the development of an all new rifle for the .338 Lapua cartridge, all designed by founder, Bill Alexander.

“2013 has been an exciting year for Alexander Arms,” said James Reddish, President of Alexander Industries. “The continued success of our products, combined with development of the new .338 Lapua rifle, has put the company in a strong position for future growth. We are pleased to be able to pursue that growth in our home state of Virginia, and thank all the state and local officials who worked so hard to help us find a new home in Pulaski County.”

Gov. Bob McDonnell said, “It is a win to retain a Virginia-founded company as it thrives and expands. Alexander Industries was established in the Commonwealth in 2001, and continued growth requires the need for a larger facility and increased manufacturing capacity to meet demand. With this project the company triples its current workforce and will move operations to a 25,000-square-foot facility in Dublin Industrial Park that meets its needs. I am confident that Alexander Industries will continue its path of success in Pulaski County.”

“Alexander Industries has made a reputation of quality for itself over the last 12 years, and will continue to be a strong corporate citizen in the New River Valley,” said Jim Cheng, Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade. “Pulaski County and the Town of Dublin offer solutions for the company’s current and future growth needs, and we look forward to the continued partnership between the Commonwealth of Virginia and Alexander Industries.”

Bill Alexander is a gifted arms and ammunition designer, who has created one of my favorite AR-15 variants (the 1,000+ yard capable side-charging Alexander Arms Sniper Rifle pictured above) and two of my favorite cartridges, the 6.5 Grendel, and the .50 Beowulf.

By the way, stay away from the .50 Beowulf in a 12.5″ barreled full-auto PDW. It kicks a bit.

Where was I? Oh, yeah.

While Bill Alexander is a great designer and I’ve happy that Alexander Industries is getting out of Radford Arsenal and into a new facility, I wish they’d moved out of the state that just elected gun-grabbing carpetbagger Terry McAuliffe to be their next governor. I hope that this doesn’t come back to bite Alexander in the butt, where the company ends up trapped in a state where the incoming governor would like to ban ever gun they make.