ROCK SPRINGS — Inside KelTec’s Rock Springs manufacturing plant, the rhythmic hum of CNC machines mixes with the faint smell of oil and steel as operators fine-tune slides, barrels and triggers for the company’s PR-5.7 pistol, a firearm made only in Wyoming.
Erick Fredrickson, the Plant Operations Manager, said the Rock Springs plant is small but growing fast. “We’re trying to get ourselves to the point where we’re getting 200 guns into shipping every day, and we’re getting close to that,” Fredrickson said, “some days we even pass that.”
KelTec, headquartered in Cocoa, Florida, opened the Rock Springs facility three years ago. The first year was spent acquiring and preparing the building, a former oilfield services facility once operated by Cameron.
Today, the site employs 26 people and produces the PR-5.7, a 5.7x28mm pistol known for its unique internal magazine design.
Inside the bright, epoxy-floored workspace, the process is a blend of precision engineering and hands-on craftsmanship. Operators run banks of CNC machines, each cutting slides, frames, and trunnions to tight tolerances. Floor Manager Stetson Roundy said parts are measured multiple times a shift with digital gauges and optical comparators before moving on to deburring, heat treating and final assembly.
The factory’s test-firing room, adapted from an old wash bay, reflects KelTec’s pragmatic approach to innovation. “We used the wood from the blasting bays that were here when Cameron was here,” Roundy said.
KelTec’s Wyoming operation currently focuses on a single model, but Fredrickson said that will likely change. The company’s founder, George Kellgren, has a reputation for unconventional firearm designs.
“They’re always innovating,” Fredrickson said. “Hopefully in the future, we’ll be able to expand our machine shop and make more parts for new weapons coming out of Wyoming.”
Community involvement is another focus. KelTec has donated firearms to local causes such as Cowboys Against Cancer, the Music for Vets fundraiser in Green River, and the American Legion Veterans Project. Donation requests come in “two or three times a month,” Fredrickson said. “We try to help as much as we can.”
As KelTec looks ahead, the company plans to add up to 20 more machines and expand its production floor next year, potentially doubling employment. For Fredrickson, the goal goes beyond output numbers.
“It’s a family-owned company,” Fredrickson said. “We’re big fans of American made products and of the Second Amendment, but more than that, we want to be part of this community.”
