Para RIP ??

[tombogan03884]

http://gunssavelives.net/gun-industry/breaking-remington-will-eliminate-para-brand-and-integrate-pistols-into-remington-line/?utm_source=Guns+Save+Lives+Daily+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=d9a26829e3-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_eaeaa815c4-d9a26829e3-65839189


Last week there were some rumors on some smaller websites that Remington was preparing to eliminate the Para pistol brand. While it made sense, it wasn’t quite enough for us to run a story on it. Well, today we have some new information.

It looks like Remington is getting rid of the Para brand name, but the company’s pistol lineup will be integrated into the Remington pistol lineup. Warranties on existing Para pistols will still be honored. So rather than going out of business, this seems to be more of a rebranding move.

Here is a press release from Remington Outdoors on the matter:

    At Remington Outdoor Company (“ROC”) we develop, manufacture and market the highest quality firearms, ammunition, and related products. We have built ROC by acquiring and cultivating great brands and products, such as the Remington 870 and 700, DPMS rifles, AAC suppressors, Barnes Bullets ammunition, Para USA handguns, and more while continuously investing in our people and facilities. In 2011 Remington re-entered the handgun market with the critically acclaimed R1 1911, an updated version of the 1911 Remington made for the US government in World War I. Most of ROC’s new product launches and acquisitions have gone well, but they aren’t always perfect and, candidly, we did a poor job with the Marlin factory relocation and the R51 launch. These were expensive but valuable.
In 2012, with a goal of expanding its handgun line, ROC acquired Para USA (“Para”), a company that specialized in the production of competition, high capacity, and double action 1911-style pistols. Following Remington’s acquisition, Para, which had been experiencing quality control issues, saw a steep decline in warranty claims.

In 2014, ROC announced its new, world-class firearms center of excellence in Huntsville, Alabama. Here, Remington is integrating product development, engineering, production, and quality control – a first in Remington’s 200-year history. The integration of modern sporting rifles, suppressors, and Remington pistols commenced immediately, and Para is scheduled to move to Huntsville next month.

Para’s products have a strong following due to their key technical and performance features, which are different than many 1911s, including Remington’s own R1 line. ROC intends to keep these features and benefits that our customers have come to trust, while transferring Para’s operations to Huntsville and rebranding Para to Remington. We have learned from our mistakes, listened to our customers, and have a clear plan to smoothly integrate Para. This includes keeping popular Para products, characteristics, and names such as the “Warthog,” while improving quality with state-of-the art machining and engineering in Huntsville, AL.

Further, ROC will recognize and continue to support Para’s Lifetime Warranty promise on all Para handguns.

[billt]

This is generally the case with all of these massive corporate gun company buy outs. Much the same with the Bushmaster, Remington, DPMS buy out by Cerberus a few years back. After it happened Bushmaster announced they were back to offering .308 AR platform rifles. The original Windham Bushmaster .308's were something of a dog with fleas. They were horribly overpriced, and had a great deal of problems with bolts cracking.

So much so Bushmaster, (pre Cerberus), took them out of production and would not offer any more parts, (bolts), for them. They kind of, sort of, screwed over they're customer base in that regard. Who wants to pay close to $1,800.00, (pre Assault Weapon Ban prices), for a D.I. .308 AR you can't get parts for at any price? After Cerberus bought Bushmaster from Richard Dyke, they announced shortly after that Bushmaster was back in the .308 AR rifle business. All they ended up doing was rebranding DPMS .308 rifles with the Bushmaster snake logo. Current Bushmaster .308 rifles will not interchange any parts from the older pre Cerberus models.

Not that there is anything wrong with this. But it's yet another example of what happens when companies take over several brands. Para's are going to become nothing more than Remington R-1's with a different roll mark. It's nothing but a manufacturing consolidation move in order to cut down production costs. The gun business is getting so competitive these days, I think you're going to be seeing a lot more of this type of thing.

[Big Frank]

I'll be interested to see if the LDA and double stacks stay in the Para line. I'm glad they'll honor the lifetime warranty if I need it.

[tombogan03884]

You will probably see them keep the models that sell good, and ditch the rest.
Same as when S&W bought Thompson Center.

[santahog]

I'll be interested to see if the LDA and double stacks stay in the Para line. I'm glad they'll honor the lifetime warranty if I need it.

Amen..

I've had several 1911s over the years. (Something that isn't currently the case..  ) The two most reliable I've ever had were Para. I also had 5 (Paras) that gave me less than reliable service.. I had a Kimber that had nothing on those two Paras. I miss em.

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