Brixtel Defense announces opening of branch facility in Glendive

From Virginia to the Big Sky, Glendive picked up a new industry set to ramp up operations at the beginning of February following an official ribbon-cutting ceremony with local and state officials at the new facility on January 10th.

Brixtel Defense, an ammunition manufacturer, this week announced that the industrial business has opened a facility in Glendive, marking a $125,000 million investment in the state.

The company's Chief Executive Officer Andy Mansoor, Glendive Mayor Deb Dion, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte and Jim Slaughter, the company's chief strategy officer, provided remarks about the feat and what the future impact is to Glendive and Eastern Montana during the recent ceremony.

"Thank you for choosing this important community, for investing in such an important mission for our country, for creating jobs and growing our economy," Gianforte said. "It's a wonderful day and a great milestone."

Mansoor offered insight on the process of bringing the business to Glendive.

"This journey, I must confess, has not been a smooth sail," Mansoor said in his opening remarks. "It's been a road marked with hurdles, each a testament to the challenges that lie in the world of business and beyond, but it's these challenges that invigorate me, that wake me up each day with a renewed purpose to solve, to innovate, to make a difference."

According to information from Mansoor, Brixtel Defense is a breakaway company established in 2020 from a Virginia-based ammunition company that opened in 2005. It will continue to hold a corporate office in Virginia, with the Glendive facility being its first operational branch.

He intends to hire employees soon and get "off to the races" with making ammunition varying in caliber, from smaller 9-millimeter ammo to eventually medium and larger calibers including mortar rounds.

As part of Brixtel Defense's phase one plan, Mansoor hopes to hire a total of 65 individuals to begin work sometime in February after equipment for the facility, expected to arrive at the beginning of the month, arrives.

Brixtel Defense initiated the hiring process with a job fair and meet-and-greet in conjunction with Glendive Job Service facilitated at the Glendive Chamber of Commerce on Thursday where people were encouraged to bring a resume along with them.

Some of the positions currently open for application at Brixtel Defense through Glendive Job Service include manufacturing engineer, machine operator, general machinist, social media and marketing and human resources, to name a few.

"We are committed to empowering the United States armed forces and our allies through innovation and readiness," Mansoor said. "Our vision is resolute to ensure that our brave men and women in uniform not only succeed in every battlefield, but also return home safely."

Gianforte noted Brixtel Defense will contribute to the over 150 companies working in the ammunition and firearm industries in Montana, more than any other state.

“We have more in these two industries than any other state in the country per capita,” he said. “They create good jobs and we defend the Second Amendment.”

The ammunition loading equipment Brixtel Defense will use within its Glendive facility is coming from Alpha Loading Systems based in Stevensville.

“It’s one Montana company helping another,” Gianforte told the Ranger-Review.

By 2028, Mansoor plans to have phase two of the business plan complete, which includes a second facility erected on 500 acres of land, with the location yet to be determined, and a total of 300 jobs added in the state.

“We’re not waiting until 2028,” he said.

The obtention of Brixtel Defense is the result of months of work done by the Dawson County Economic Development Council to present Glendive to Mansoor as a viable location for the expansion of his company.

Jason Stuart, executive director for the Dawson County Economic Development Council, made a public announcement in May that a contractor with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was expressing interest in expanding to Montana through the Montana Department of Commerce’s Business Attraction Office, with several locations on its radar, including Glendive.

It was announced in August that Brixtel Defense would instead expand into Poplar, however after some undisclosed challenges with such plan, Mansoor made a second visit to Glendive. It was then he said he knew Glendive was the right community to plant his company’s facility.

“We liked what we saw here and it worked out really well for us,” Mansoor said following the January 10th ceremony.

“I have been so welcomed in this town, it’s unreal,” Slaughter said.

The DCEDC is pleased to have Brixtel Defense as a new industrial company in Glendive, as Stuart and the DCEDC Board believe it will spark further development in the community and region in the future.

“It’s a huge win for Glendive,” Stuart said. “It’s the kind of win that Glendive really has needed for awhile.”

Although putting a great deal of work into presenting Glendive as an attractive community for Brixtel Defense, Stuart extended higher praise to Jaimie Charon, a business attraction specialist with the state’s Business Attraction Office, who expressed more enthusiasm for Eastern Montana throughout the process than he has experienced in working with anyone from the State of Montana.

“We’ve never seen anybody who’s worked for the state work with such passion to help Glendive,” Stuart said.

Mayor Dion said she believes the company will suit the community well and vice versa.

“We could not have asked for a better match of industry and community,” Dion noted. “Throw in the fact that Brixtel’s company colors are red and white just like our Red Devils, it almost seems like it was meant to be. This has been a long and winding road to get where we are today and it seems, perhaps, that the pairing of Glendive and Brixtel was always in the stars.”

“I hope people realize, seeing this success, what an asset an organization like the DCEDC really is,” Stuart said. “I know some people have questioned our value ... and what the return on investment to this organization is and I hope you will see that there’s real value here.”

As Mansoor and Slaughter prepare for operations beginning in February, they are excited to bring Brixtel Defense and the ammunition loading industry to Glendive and Eastern Montana.

“We strive to be a value-added member of the community,” Mansoor noted. “Why Montana you ask? Our choice is deeply rooted in the values and strength of this magnificent state: its unwavering support for the Second Amendment, its vibrant entrepreneurial spirit and business friendly environment, its breathtaking natural beauty enhancing the quality of life, the resilience and work ethics of its community and its strategic location, ideal for national defense logistics and access to international allies.”

“Things are really looking up for Glendive and for the DCEDC ... to make Glendive a really vital community and really an attractive destination for new businesses to move in because all this success begets success,” Stuart said.