TAURUS

shooting their shot

It’s been a little over two years since Taurus cut the ribbon here in Bainbridge, moving their American plant from Miami, Florida. In the time since, they’ve brought new jobs to the area and established themselves as a large part of the local economy.

“It’s been very interesting, because we’ve obviously had a tremendous amount of support from the local community,” CEO Bret Vorhees said. “A lot of really eager employees have come from local communities. We’ve also had employees that came up with us from Miami, that have been able to blend in and make themselves at home here in Bainbridge, so that’s also been fantastic.”

Vorhees himself previously worked for Walther Arms in Arkansas before taking his position at Taurus. “Th e opportunity at Taurus was obviously a great one, a company that’s been doing all the right things and making big improvements, and a lot of opportunity to grow the company, those types of things,” he said.

And grow the company has. According to Vorhees, there was over 100% growth in their fi rst year in Bainbridge, over growth during their last year in Miami.

“It was an immediate impact we were able to see,” he said. “Th at growth has been great, and I don’t think we can do it without the benefi t of what we have here in Bainbridge. We certainly weren’t able to do it in Miami with the same amount of employees, so there’s something there.”

Not only has Taurus been able to outperform their own growth, Vorhees said they’ve also done better against their competitors.

“In relation to the other companies in the industry, I think Bainbridge gave us an opportunity to grow where maybe some of the large competitors that we have are already established in their buildings and probably have some constraints they’re up against, so we were able to outperform the market.”

And, they have no signs of stopping, with “aggressive growth plans” over the next fi ve years, with 2022 aimed at investing in the companies’ Bainbridge infrastructure to prepare for more growth.

“Being nominated for Large Business of the Year is a tremendous honor for us,” Vorhees said. “We want to thank the local community here for being so supportive of us, and we’re looking forward to continuing success in the future.”

20 BAINBRIDGE LIVING / Winter 2022

Lauren Minor A TAURUS TRIGGER: A Taurus GX4 sits with a specialty Taurus case at their gun manufacturing plant at the Industrial Park.