Facility will host U.S. headquarters of weapons supplier NIOA Group in addition to Barrett’s corporate offices and grenade rifle manufacturing
State leaders gathered in Christiana on Wednesday for a ceremonial groundbreaking related to the future Barrett Firearms’ Manufacturing and Technology Campus, with an early 2027 completion eyed for the Rutherford County facility.
The $76.4 million project will feature a 250,000-square-foot weapons manufacturing facility to be located on Manchester Pike and to house Barrett’s corporate offices and space for the U.S. headquarters of the NIOA Group, Barrett’s Australian-owned parent company.
The facility is expected to be operational in February 2027 and yield 183 new jobs.
Nashville-based Hamilton Development is developing the site. Alston Construction is the General Contractor.
The future facility will house manufacturing operations related to Barrett’s 30mm semi-automatic grenade launcher, which is expected to be adopted by the U.S. Army Precision Grenadier System program. The launcher won the Army’s xTech Soldier Lethality competition earlier this year.
“This weapon is going to be the next weapon that changes the battlefield, the American soldier, the same way that [Barrett’s] original M82 [rifle] changed the battlefield [for] the American soldier when it was created,” NIOA Group CEO Robert Nioa said. “The facility we’re going to open here is going to be the global center for production for that weapon.”
Founded in Murfreesboro in 1982, Barrett Firearms Manufacturing in 2023 was acquired by the NIOA Group, billed as the largest Australian-owned weapons and ammunition supplier to Australian and New Zealand defense forces, law enforcement agencies and civilian consumers.
“Tennessee has 30 Australian companies representing close to 2,000 employees,” Tennessee Economic and Community Development Commissioner Stuart McWhorter said at the event.
“There’s a lot of Australian businesses here, and quite frankly, there’s going to be more …When you come across a family business that was acquired by another family business that keeps the family that started the business involved, we’re standing here today for that reason, and that’s just so special.”
The state seemingly has not announced if it will be providing any incentives.
Gov. Bill Lee said the project will be important “for the jobs it creates, for the economic opportunity it provides for our state, and for the security of the United States … [the role] this particular company will play with the military, it elevates this to an even higher position.”
Other speakers included Barrett CEO Bryan James, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais, Rutherford County Mayor Joe Carr and Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland, with a ceremonial firing of a Barrett rifle before the groundbreaking ceremony having taken place.
Source: Nashville Post
