Defense Department Invests to Re-Establish Domestic Production of GOEX Blackpowder
In a press release published this afternoon, the U.S Department of Defense announced a $3.5 million investment in the GOEX facility in Louisiana.
The Department of Defense’s Industrial Base Support (IBS) office, through the Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III authority, is supporting a Louisiana facility that produces black powder, a widely used propellant in artillery, firearms, rocketry, pyrotechnics and numerous weapons systems.
The $3.5 million investment by the Department of Defense (DoD) will allow the facility, owned by Estes Energetics, through its Goex subsidiary, to reopen after an accident shut down production. The total cost of the project is $5.3 million over two years, and it will allow production to resume at the Minden, Louisiana facility in two years or less.
This investment will bring a critical defense industrial base asset back to production status and help Goex modernize the facility with the intent of reducing operational risk and improving safety. Goex is currently the only American source of black powder, which also has commercial applications in model rockets, muzzleloading firearms, fireworks, and other industrial processes.
“The Department of Defense’s DPA Title III Program Office continues to deliver on its mission of reshoring and re-establishing domestic production of materials critical to our nation’s national security needs and strategic interests,” said Halimah Najieb-Locke, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Resilience. “We are pleased to have the opportunity to support this U.S. company as it works to restart the American-based supply chain of this important propellant.”
The investment will also allow Goex to hire up to an additional 30 workers in Louisiana.
Estes Energetics CEO, Karl Kulling had this to say about the news
“I’m proud of the entire Estes Energetics team as we continue the 220-year legacy of American-made black powder. Securing the domestic supply chain is vitally important and partnering with the Department of Defense lets us do our part in that mission.”
The news is welcome to muzzleloading enthusiasts. Rumors about the condition of the facility circulated after the explosion in June 2021 but were not confirmed. News has been light about the GOEX plant since their appearance at the 2022 NMLRA Spring National Shoot, it’s nice to hear the team at Estes Energetics is working hard to get American Made powder back into enthusiasts hands.