Mid South Industrial
Mid-South Industries Inc. (MSI) is a military contractor in Gadsden, Etowah County, Alabama. It is a holding company representing a series of small-scale manufacturing companies in Gadsden. Mid-South would negotiate the contracts and assign the work to one of its subsidiaries, with the option to spread the work around to the others if production exceeded their capacity.
History[edit]
The company was founded by John and Jerry Weaver in 1962.[1][2] It was later taken over and renamed Jay Mid-South Industries LLC in 2004 and became Koller Craft South in 2013.
Subordinate Companies[edit]
Stamped Products Inc.[edit]
A metal stamping and welded assemblies plant founded in 1962 as Dixie Tool and Die Co. and renamed Stamped Products Inc. in 1983. They mostly do work for the automotive industry.
Mid-South Electronics[edit]
Originally founded in 1978 as Mid-South Electrics[3]. They made electro-mechanical, injected-molded plastic, and electronic parts and assemblies. They also had a government contract to make fuses for cluster bombs for the Air Force. They expanded production in 1986 by moving to a larger facility in Annville, Kentucky that was renamed and incorporated as Mid-South Electronics.[4]. The facility made circuit boards and injection-molded plastic parts used in ice and water dispensers for refrigerators for Frigidaire. It was briefly closed in 2005 after an catastrophic arson fire that engulfed the main structure[5]. The company took over new business manufacturing baggage screening systems[6] at a new plant in London, Kentucky[7].
Etowah Manufacturing Co. Inc. (EMCO)[edit]
This company was founded in 1968 with a satellite factory for a brief time in Manchester, Kentucky. It was named for Etowah, the county Gadsden is in.
In the 1970s, -'80s and -'90s EMCO oversaw Ranger Manufacturing and Black Creek Manufacturing, which made licenced copies of the Walther PP, PPK and TPH.
In the 1990s they had a contract from the Air Force and Coast Guard to manufacture M16[8] "drop-in" conversion kits that upgraded them to meet M16A2 specifications. The major component was a new M16/M16A1 barrel with a 1-in-7" [1:178mm] barrel twist to allow the rifle to fire the new 5.56mm NATO FN SS109/US M885 round. They had a high failure rate during inspection due to rough bores and bad barrel crowns. This led to them being sold as scrap. Some were bought up by civilian manufacturers like DPMS, Bushmaster and Superior Arms, were refinished, and then were used in AR-15 rifle builds.
They currently specialize in manufacturing rubber stamps.[9]
Partnerships[edit]
Ranger Manufacturing[edit]
Manufactured Interarms-licensed versions of the Walther PPK, PPK/S, and TPH pistols for Interarms from 1979 to 1999. (Interarms had previously sold war surplus pistols or imported new-made pistols from Europe.) The slides were stamped "INTERARMS / Alexandria, VA". MSI made the contract with Interarms but Ranger bore the pre- and post-production costs. They manufactured the only stainless steel versions of the pistols.
Black Creek Manufacturing Inc.[edit]
When Interarms' licence to manufacture pistols in the United States expired in 1999, it was allowed to lapse. Walther (controlled by Umarex since 1993) decided to produce them directly under their own rollstamp through their American manufacturers. To signify this new relationship Ranger Manufacturing was renamed Black Creek Manufacturing Inc. (named for the nearby Black Creek). Sturm, Ruger & Co. in Newport, New Hampshire made the raw castings, Black Creek did production and assembly, and Smith & Wesson did secondary quality control, sales, and warranty. The slides were stamped "WALTHER USA LLC / Springfield, MA". This lasted from 1999 to 2001, when Walther hired Smith & Wesson to produce their own product-improved copies.
Gobar Systems[edit]
A joint venture with Toledo, Ohio-based Select Tool & Die[10]. It operates a metal stamping and injection molding factory at Brownsville, Texas on the Texas-Mexico border.
Takeovers[edit]
Jay Mid-South Industries LLC[edit]
A merger started in 2004 with Jay Industries and Taylor Metal Products, both of Montgomery, Ohio[11][12], with Jay Industries as the senior partner. It made automotive parts for the Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa, the Honda plant in Lincoln, and the Hyundai / KIA plant in Montgomery.
Koller Craft South[edit]
Koller Enterprises Inc. bought Jay Mid-South out in 2013[13], renaming it Koller Craft South. Since then it now also makes automotive parts for Nissan and Ford. They also make parts and components for Wal-Mart, Target, Amazon and Bed Bath & Beyond.
References[edit]
- ↑ Manta.com US > Alabama > Printed and Etched Circuits Manufacturers
- ↑ Legacy.com > The Gadsden Times (May 6, 2014) > Obituary > John Baker Weaver
- ↑ Manta.com > U.S. > Annville, KY > Electronics Printed Circuit Boards > Printed and Etched Circuits Manufacturers > Mid-South Electronics
- ↑ Bloomberg.com > Electronic Equipment, Instruments and Components > Company Overview of Mid-South Electronics, Inc.
- ↑ Firehouse.com > Fire That Closed Kentucky Electronics Factory Also Hurting Other Businesses (January 18, 2005)
- ↑ Aviationpros.com > Annville, Ky. Plant Awarded Contract to Assemble Baggage Screening Systems (April 19th, 2005)
- ↑ Plasticsnews.com > Mid-South recovers from fire; worker charged (April 18, 2005)
- ↑ In American military service the Air Force and Navy procured the M16 - which lacked the forward assist device found on the Army and Marine Corps' M16A1s. The Coast Guard received the Navy's M16s when the Navy upgraded to the burst-fire-only M16A2 and full-auto M16A3 in the 1980s.
- ↑ Bloomberg.com EMCO inc.
- ↑ Glassdoor.com Mid-South Industries
- ↑ Bloomberg.com > Metals and Mining > Company Overview of Jay Industries, Inc. (March 3, 2019)
- ↑ The Gadsden Times (Jan 22, 2004)
- ↑ Koller Enterprises Inc. Koller Craft South
External Links[edit]
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