MAST Technology Inc By Art Nadler For the sports enthusiast with his sights set on a higher quality and more accurate rifle cartridge, MAST Technology Inc. of Las Vegas has the shell for you. The Las Vegas-based company began manufacturing brass cartridges in Southern Nevada in 1993. The firm's founder, James Bell Jr., developed his craft as a child in the Chicago area, where he worked as an apprentice in the family shop under his gunsmith father and grandfather's guidance. Years later, as an adult, Bell founded Brass Extrusion Labs LTD. in Bensenville, Ill. There, he manufactured brass cases for nearly 20 years.

One day in the late 1960s, when Bell was visiting India as a Peace Corp volunteer, he came across some vintage English hunting rifles. They were magnificent weapons, but the companies that made shells for the guns had long since gone out of business. That's when Bell decided to form his own company to manufacture vintage cartridges for firearms collectors and sportsmen. Their standards were high -- demanding brass cases that could withstand multiple reloadings. Today, the Las Vegas company boasts of manufacturing the "toughest brass in the business."And some of Bell's clients - such as Lazzeroni, Federal, Dakota and Remington - will attest to this claim. Bell brass cases have been known to be reloaded more than 30 times. "We are a very niche market,"Chief Executive Officer Jay Bell says. "Anything conventional, we stay away from."One of MAST's largest clients is the Army. The Las Vegas company is the exclusive manufacturer of a spoter tracer bullet for the Army's Shoulder-launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon (SMAW). The 9 mm bullet comes in a six-round magazine and is used to pinpoint the precise trajectory to a target for a rocket launcher attached to the top of the SMAW weapon. This is the only complete cartridge MAST manufactures. The company mainly manufactures brass cases for clients for various British African hunting rifles, black power weapons and some American hunting and high-velocity rifles. MAST also rebuilds ammunition machinery for sale to major producers in the United States, Mexico, Central and South America, Europe, Africa, Australia and Asia. The company has annual sales of between $1.5 and $4 million, depending on how many contracts are in house, Jay Bell says. MAST employs approximately 25 people. The Manufacturing Assistance Program (MAP), the industrial outreach program of the University and Community College System of Nevada, is in the process of assisting MAST in finding a new facility. The company expects to move from its S. Arville Street location soon. "We strive to make the best product at the lowest price,"Jim Bell says. "We are a family owned business and a God fearing company." For more information on MAST Technologies Inc., log onto the company web site at: www.bellammo.com If you are a business and in need of personnel, production or financial advice, a MAP agent is available to help. You can also learn more about MAP by clicking onto its web site at: www.map-assist.com.