GLENROCK - Beaming town officials welcomed rifle and ammunition manufacturer A-Square Company to Glenrock Wednesday, during a press conference and lease-signing ceremony at city hall.

The firm plans to relocate its Bedford, Ky., rifle division to Glenrock. Company founder Art Alphin said with a bit of luck, local operations could begin in May.

Eighteen months after start-up, Alphin said he would like to have 21 to 23 workers on the job.

A-Square makes three models of rifles - the Hannibal, the Hamlicar and the Genghis Khan - in 53 different calibers.

Glenrock Mayor Steve Cielinski said his community is a good fit for a rifle manufacturer.

"We've been kind of a shooting mecca for the state," he said. "A lot of small shooting industries have been located here."

Glenrock was selected over Douglas, Riverton, Powell and Cody for the rifle division.

Alphin said the company will be hiring for such positions as machinists and stock makers, some of which will be entry level.

At the journeymen level, the jobs will pay around $15 an hour, increasing to about $19 an hour for accomplished craftsmen.

Alphin said the base price of a rifle is about $3,500. The market for such firearms is global.

"African safari hunting is on the increase, not the decrease," he said.

The new company is called A-Square of Wyoming LLC, and Alphin wants to lease the state's bucking horse symbol. Jay Lesser of Glenrock has been hired as vice president for rifle operations.

Alphin said he was drawn to Wyoming partly because of his uncle, who was from Jackson and taught him how to use firearms.

Alphin said the company will be located temporarily in a city-owned building on Highway 20-26 on the east edge of town. The building will require considerable renovations. The city will do some exterior work and bring utilities to the building, Alphin said, while A-Square will install a heating system, perform interior electrical work and create specialized work areas.

Assuming enough qualified workers can be found, A-Square later could build a permanent facility with help from the Wyoming Business Council. The company also could relocate the division that makes cartridge cases and bullets, he added.

If all goes according to plan, Cielinski said the town would like to turn a 15-acre parcel of land into an area for a variety of shooting-related businesses.

If things don't pan out, Cielinski said the town will still have a more valuable building than it has now.

Business Editor Tom Mast can be reached at tom.mast@casperstartribune.net, or call 307-266-0574.