Morgan Markley
Senior Reporter
Sturm, Ruger & Co. is a firearms company with its manufacturing plant located in Newport, N.H. Sturm, Ruger was founded in 1949 by William Ruger. According to Classic Value Investors, when Ruger was 12 years old, he received his first rifle as a gift from his father. Ruger soon became so knowledgeable about guns that gun engineers would listen to him talk about guns and how they work.
Considered one of the world’s largest firearms’ companies, Sturm Ruger personnel declined to comment or answer any questions regarding its corporate enterprises. Information gathered reflects the company’s own materials and other sources.
Sturm, Ruger and Company’s website celebrates its origins with the story of founder William Ruger. After attending two years at the University of North Carolina, Ruger decided he wanted to do something in the gun industry and left college. He began his career by working for the government designing machine guns. He only spent a few months working for the government because he did not make enough money.
When Ruger was 20 years old, the Army started looking for a new machine gun design. This created a new opportunity for Ruger because he wanted to be the one to design it. No companies would pick up the design to manufacture. Ruger even went to companies like Smith and Wesson with no takers. He responded by opening up Ruger and Co. with just $50,000 worth of investments in 1949. Ruger’s goal with the company was to build each product, “To a standard so I would want one even if it was made by our competitors,” according to the Sturm, Ruger and Co. website.
Ruger solidified his business potential with business partner, Alexander Sturm, who according to the National Firearms Museum website was, “An artist, author, and firearms collector.” The website also stated that Sturm provided the “capital.” Together they began building one of the largest gun companies in America.
In 1951 Sturm died and the company became solely in Ruger’s possession. After Ruger retired in 2000 at age 84, son William Ruger, Jr. took over as the leader of the company.
Currently, the company is run by Michael Fifer who was appointed CEO in 2008. Previous to working for Sturm, Ruger and Co., Fifer was employed by Mueller Industries, Inc. and Watts Industries, Inc. According to the Wall Street Cheat Sheet, Sturm, Ruger and Co. reported net sales of $141.8 million for the fourth-quarter in 2013, which increased by 52 percent from $93.2 million a year earlier.
Sturm, Ruger and Co. has manufacturing plants in Prescott, Ariz. and in Newport, N.H. The corporate headquarters are located in Southport, Conn. According to New Hampshire Public Radio, the Newport facility employs about 1,200 employees.
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According to OpenSecrets.org, Fifer donated $1,000 to the National Shooting Sports Foundation over the course of two years. Fifer is currently on the board of directors for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which is located in Newtown, Conn.
According to the Sturm Ruger website, C. Michael Jacobi is currently the Chairman of the Board, he is also a member of the Board of Directors and Audit committee chairman of the Corrections Corporation of America, which is a publicly-traded company that builds, equips and staffs prisons. He is also on the board of the Webster Financial Corporation.
In 2012 Sturm, Ruger and Co. was named No. 4 on the Forbes list of the Best Small Companies in America. According to the article, Behind America’s Gun Boom: Inside the Comeback at Sturm, Ruger, “Gun ownership is at a near 20-year high, generating $4 billion in commercial guns and ammunition sales. Sparked in part by the shootings like the ones in Aurora, Colo. and Oak Creek, Wis. and fears about President Obama’s position on gun control…”
According to the company’s website, Sturm, Ruger and CO. produces an autoloading rifle called the SR-556 with a suggested retail price of $1,995 considered by Sturm, Ruger & Co. is considered “The AR platform redefined.”
The AR-15 was the gun used by Adam Lanza in the Newtown, Conn. shooting in December 2012.
In May 2011 Ruger launched a fundraising project to benefit the NRA. Under CEO Fifer, the goal was to sell 1 million firearms during one year with one dollar from each sale going to the NRA Institute of Legislative Action, the group’s lobbying arm. According to the NRA-ILA,“The future of our Second Amendment is directly dependent on the strength of NRA-ILA and resources provided by great companies like Ruger help us get the job done,” remarked Chris Cox, Executive Director of NRA-The project became more successful than originally planned with Ruger donating over $1.2 million to the NRA-ILA. Due to Fifer’s work with the NRA, they honored him with the 2012 Distinguished Corporate Leader. . The project became more successful than originally planned with Ruger donating over $1.2 million to the NRA. Due to Fifer’s work with the NRA, they honored him with the 2012 Distinguished Corporate Leader.
. The project became more successful than originally planned with Ruger donating over $1.2 million to the NRA. Due to Fifer’s work with the NRA, they honored him with the 2012 Distinguished Corporate Leader.