It really is the end of an era for Advanced Armament Corp. As we reported back in May, the entire AAC factory is being shuttered in preparation for moving the production to the new combined Remington plant in Alabama. This includes laying off all existing employees, including those who made the company what it is today. According to our sources (and confirmed by AAC’s handy computer systems) two more of those employees have walked out of the office for the last time, and their names are John Hollister and Derek Smith . . .
John Hollister, who was a retired crime scene investogator until Kevin Brittingham brought him out of retirement to play with guns and be AAC’s salesman for LEOs, has officially skedaddled. John has most recently become the unofficial poster child for AAC, appearing prominently on their (very nicely manufactured) catalogs for this year, and it now appears official that he has skipped town, headed straight towards SIG SAUER’s neighborhood. Our information says he submitted his letter of resignation on November 24th, so his two weeks are up right about now. It really looks like Kevin Brittingham is putting the band back together, this time with better funding and more CNC machines at their beck and call. Oh, it’s gunna be good.
Derek Smith has been running all of AAC’s sales for the last two years. Derek hasn’t made it known where he is heading, but his departure (resignation submitted November 17th, apparently) leaves AAC without anyone to manage distributor sales and relationships. In short, AAC no longer has anyone employed to actually sell their products. In the meantime, it looks like Jason Notch from DPMS has been designated as the sales guy for AAC. That smells to me like a hospice position rather than an attempt to make money, since there has been no word of him leaving his existing position to fill the role at AAC.
The long-term plan from Remington, according to our sources, is to kill AAC and roll their intellectual properly into a new entity known as “Remington Accessories,” combined with Tapco and other brands. AAC has been a perpetual thorn in the side of Remington management, and they would love nothing more than to take that special snowflake and toss it into the pot of boiling water that is the rest of the operation. Much like the Borg, they want to assimilate what technology they find interesting and remove any traces of individuality and personality. Which is unfortunate, since so much of AAC’s success is due to that unique culture.
By the end of the year, AAC’s offices will be nothing more than an empty warehouse with a funny paint scheme on the inside. There will be no one working there and no machines cranking out product. AAC will effectively be dead, and the gun industry will have lost a truly unique and inspiring company.