“We welcome Para into the Freedom Group Family of Companies,†stated. E. Scott Blackwell, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer of Freedom Group Inc.
“Para USA is a leader in handgun technology and their fine products exemplify quality, innovation and performance. Para is a perfect complement to our industry-leading family of brands, and our success in 2011 with the Remington R1 – 1911. We look forward to deploying both human and financial resources to continue to develop and supply current and future handguns for consumers and our channel partners. We also wish to thank all its employees for their continued dedication that has made Para a success.”
That’s how Scott Blackwell characterized Freedom Group’s purchase of Para USA in an official statement. For many years FGI has wanted to add a pistol manufacturer to their portfolio, even going so far as to internally launch the Remington R1, a 1911 clone that has received tepid response from the market.
Rumors swirled around the sale at SHOT Show after Gear Scout spilled the beans about the pending deal but FGI marches to their own tempo so it’s no surprise they took a few extra weeks to announce the deal. Generally, a very secretive conglomerate, FGI only recently removed any mention of the long defunct EOTAC clothing business from their website with never even an acknowledgement that it had closed its doors.
The best part of the FGI press release was this little gem, “Para will continue day-to-day operations at their Pineville, NC based facility.” We’d like to add a “for now…” to the end of that one.
