THOMPSON CENTER ARMS: A Legacy Reborn, A Future Built with Eurotech

Some brands carry history. Others carry heart. But few carry both like Thompson/Center Arms. For six decades, the company built a reputation for innovation, craftsmanship, and proudly American-made firearms. And now, after years of corporate ownership, Thompson/Center is back where it belongs—with the same leadership and mission that built their legacy, and a whole new manufacturing edge thanks to Eurotech.

This isn’t just a revival. It’s a return to form, led by someone who helped shape it the first time.

A Legacy From Within

Gregg Ritz didn’t discover Thompson/Center Arms, he helped shape it. He started in the company’s sales department early in his career and steadily worked his way up to become its President and CEO. Under his leadership, the company thrived, as well as deepening its reputation for quality and innovation. But in 2007, Thompson/Center was acquired by Smith & Wesson. Production moved from the company’s original facility in Rochester, New Hampshire, to Springfield, Massachusetts. “Out of 600 employees, only 3 went to Springfield,” Ritz recalls. “So you lost the DNA.”

Then in 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Smith & Wesson ceased production of Thompson/Center firearms to focus on their core product lines. The brand faded from shelves—but not from memory.

The demand for the Thompson/Center firearms never ceased, and in 2023, Ritz came full circle. He reacquired the company he once led, with a mission not just to bring back a name, but to restore its soul.

THE CHALLENGE

Bringing Thompson/Center Arms back meant more than restarting production. It meant recapturing the original spirit—the look, feel, and performance of the guns people trusted for generations—while updating the manufacturing process for a new era.

“There was a New England mentality of being vertically integrated,” Ritz says. “They didn’t just control design, they made their own barrels, did their own casting, even bought a sawmill in Prairie, Kansas, to make wood blanks.”

That hands-on mentality defined Thompson/Center for decades. And Ritz wanted it back. So he brought the company home to Rochester, New Hampshire and began assembling the original team. “People came out of retirement to help,” Ritz says. “One of our former metal finishing supervisors, Bob, came in when we were struggling to get the Encore receiver finish just right. He looked at it and said, ‘You’re using the wrong medium. You need more of this here…’ and in an hour, he had it fixed.”

Key leadership also returned. “Our Director of Engineering was our Director of Engineering 30 years ago,” Ritz notes. “Same with our Director of Operations, our head of Customer Service. We brought back the core people to train the next generation.” But cultural restoration was only one half of the challenge. To meet today’s demands for speed, precision, and scalability, Thompson/Center needed to modernize its manufacturing process without sacrificing quality.

THE SOLUTION

Enter Eurotech. 

Thompson/Center’s connection to Eurotech runs deep. One of their Tier One suppliers, IDM, had long relied on Eurotech machines for their own production. One of Ritz’s investors owns more than 40 Eurotech machines. “So when your suppliers and trusted partners are all saying the same thing—‘This is the best equipment for what you’re doing’—you listen,” says Ritz.

It wasn’t about price. It was about performance.

“We didn’t say, ‘Here’s our budget, what can we get?’ We asked, ‘How do we make the best part?’ And the top three choices were all Eurotech.” 

The results were immediate. Take the company’s iconic Encore line’s barrel system… a single-shot platform that requires exact fitment between frames and barrels going back over 60 years. The barrel has a lug on the bottom... and it would have to go through five different operations to finish the barrel,” Ritz explains. “It would come off a machine, go onto a machine, come off... Now with Eurotech technology and machines, it doesn’t leave the machine.”

That single change brought multiple advantages including tighter tolerances, fewer machines and setups needed, reduced labor needs, and higher consistency.

Ritz focuses in on the specifics of the streamlined process; “Instead of having 5 machines That would have to have 5 operators, now we have one machine and that person's running another machine as well. I have one operator doing 2 operations. So I went from 5 operators to one.”

Again referencing the Encore system, Gregg notes “Everything made from 1967 until now —every barrel has to fit every new frame, and every new frame has to fit every old barrel,” Ritz says. “That’s 60 years of interchangeability. There’s no margin for error.”

Thanks to a combination of a world class team and the capabilities of Eurotech machines, Thompson/Center now ensures that compatibility… faster, cleaner, and more reliably than ever before.

FROM LEGACY TO LEADERSHIP

Rebuilding Thompson/Center Arms meant rebuilding more than machinery. It meant rebuilding culture, pride, and trust. And with the right people, the right philosophy, and the right tools, the company has gone from dormant to shipping product in under a year.

Reflecting on the challenge of rebuilding the company’s operations, Ritz offers a vivid analogy: “It’s like being a chef tasked with cooking a world class meal, but walking into an empty room to cook it. You’re used to opening a drawer and grabbing your baking ingredients,” says Ritz. “But when you walk into a blank room, you realize, ‘I’ve got to buy the oven. I’ve got to buy the utensils. I’ve got to stock the fridge.’ You’re rebuilding the cupboards.”

And now, with Eurotech technology running at the core of its operations, those cupboards are fully stocked… and built to last.

The rebirth of Thompson/Center Arms is more than a return to greatness. It’s an example of what happens when legacy, leadership, and cutting-edge manufacturing come together. And Eurotech is proud to be part of that journey.

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