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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.
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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.
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