IWI opens HQ

Israeli gunmaker in Andersonville employs 72

April 29, 2026 by G. Chambers Williams III

A gun manufacturer based in Israel, IWI US Inc., has opened its new U.S. headquarters and factory in Andersonville, and has a staff of 72, most of them hired locally.

IWI said last fall that it would invest $15.7 million on the facility at 1485 Mountain Road, in the David Jones Industrial Park off Norris Freeway/U.S. 441.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the building last Wednesday afternoon, which included an appearance by the Tennessee deputy governor and Department of Economic and Community Development commissioner, Stuart C. McWhorter.

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank was also on hand to welcome IWI to the county.

“I’m very thankful for their capital investment, and most especially for the jobs they are providing to the hard-working people of our community,” she told the assembly at the plant.

“We are a community that supports defense and security,” she said. “We are a county and a state that understands its critical importance, whether that’s personal defense, law enforcement or government.

“I value IWI’s business model that provides a means for law-abiding Tennesseans to exercise their Second Amendment rights.

“I sincerely look forward to walking alongside IWI as they expand their operations [and] enhance production capability,” Frank said.

The company relocated its U.S. operations from Pennsylvania to the Andersonville building it purchased in early 2025 to “manufacture, produce and assemble” handguns, and distribute accessories for them, including night-vision sights.

IWI US, Inc., was founded in 2012 and specializes in manufacturing firearms for the commercial, law enforcement and government markets. It originally was an arm of the Israeli government, but was spun off into a private operation.

“The relocation to Anderson County and expanded operations ultimately position the company in better proximity to its customer base nationwide,” the state ECD said in an announcement in September.

IWI Chief Executive Officer Casey Flack said during the ceremony that the company brought only five employees with it from its former headquarters.

In February 2025, IWI received approval from the Anderson County Board of Zoning Appeals for a zoning variance on the building, just east of U.S. 441 (Norris Freeway).

The building had been owned by MLilly USA, Inc., a China-based mattress manufacturer that was using it as a warehouse.

The company had said then that it would invest about $20 million in the project and bring about 80 new jobs, according to Andy Wallace, president of the Anderson County Economic Development Agency.

“This is an Israeli-owned company that produces handguns for the private market,” Wallace said. “They manufacture handguns for the consumer market in the U.S.”

The BZA variance also brought permission for the company to store imported night-vision sights that contain the radioactive material tritium, also known as radioactive hydrogen.

IWI’s U.S. operations previously were based near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in Lower Swatara Township.

The L-shaped building on the north side of Mountain Road has about 114,000 square feet of space. It was purchased by MLilly on Oct. 28, 2020, for just under $6 million, according to Anderson County property records.

It’s less than a half-mile from the Clayton Homes factory, which sits on Mountain Road to the west.

Wallace said the company did not need the property to be rezoned, but did need a variance from the BZA.

“They’re asking for an exception for something that’s already going on in that park,” he said.

Although tritium is also used in the manufacture of atomic bombs, the miniscule amounts used in the gun sights are safe, Wallace said. The company will not be handling bulk tritium at the plant; it will only be a component of gun sights stored there.

East Tennessee has recently seen an influx of firearms and ammunition manufacturers moving here from Northern states where they are increasingly facing anti-gun legislation and restrictions.

“Tennessee is now the No. 1 state for firearm and ammo production,” Wallace said.