MARYVILLE, Tenn. — The founder and CEO of a gun manufacturing company now won't build a plant in Maryville.
Three years ago SCCY Industries announced amid fanfare from the state plans to build a center in Big Springs Industrial Park that was to include its corporate offices and its primary manufacturing operations.
CEO Joe Roebuck told 10News business conditions have since changed and he'll move the firm back to Florida.
Ground had not yet been broken for the facility. The property, part of an incentive to open in Blount County, will return to the Blount Partnership.
Roebuck said he had to make the decision with a heavy heart and had enjoyed the East Tennessee area. The firm had been renting a 10,000-square-foot facility next to the property on Ross Drive.
In April 2017, the business and state leaders said a new plant would bring 350 jobs to the area.
At the time, the SCCY location was expected to be operational in the first half of 2018.
