SHARPS RIFLE SOLD TO WYOMING-BASED BROADSWORD GROUP

JESSE BISHOP - GLENROCK INDEPENDENT
Posted: Thursday, March 7, 2012 9:16 am

The firearms manufacturer occupying the old A-Square building at the Meadowlark Subdivision has changed hats once again. Last year, the company A-Square was completely shut down by new owners Kevin Tierney and William Martin, and they opened their new business Sharps Rifle Company, Inc. to take over the operation. Now, with the needed approval of Glenrock Town Council, Tierney and Martin have sold 100 percent of the Sharps Rifle Company, Inc. stock to another holding group, Wyoming-based company Broadsword Group, LLC.

The transaction was made official after council passed a formal resolution approving the deal at their meeting Feb. 25. But the new ownership has finally fallen into local hands.

Broadsword Group is co-owned by Glenrocker Jay Lesser, who is acting president of the company, along with CEO Jay Johnston. With this transaction, Sharps Rifle has the capital and revenues to do what the building has been waiting to do; manufacture firearm components and ammunition.

“The big difference between them and us is that we actually have money,” Lesser told council. “So we can make this thing fly. Instead of going to banks and begging for money and using state and federal programs, all of our money is private money. None of it’s been loaned to us, and we’re working with an eight-figure budget. That was the missing piece of this puzzle for the last five years.”
Lesser said he is optimistic that the company will begin production very soon, pending a Type 10 federal firearms manufacturing license

“We are awaiting proper licensing, which we fast-tracked by going with an ATF-D.C. lawyer,” he said. “Normal process takes around eight months, we’re expected to have this license in 30 days. We have almost $2 million worth of machinery that’s going to begin being delivered in March through July. I’ve hired my first two people already, and will continue to hire people as machinery arrives.”

Sharps can’t legally produce anything until they acquire the licensing, so in the meantime they are busying themselves cleaning the building and getting things in order to begin production as soon as they are able. Lesser also said they will be liquidating much of the antique machinery already on location, and are preparing to move in the new machinery.

But the thing Lesser seemed most proud of was to have a local company running operations, and he aims to keep it that way.

“One of the primary goals of the owners, and I am one of the co-owners, is that this business be solely a Wyoming business,” Lesser said. “That it’s based in Wyoming, it’s headquarterd in Wyoming. We will have some satellite businesses, Broadsword is the holding group, we will have several businesses under that, but this will be the epicenter. Everything will either be made here or will pass through it.”