In major news for the area, the biggest Australian-owned supplier of firearms, weapons and ammunition to the Australian Defence Force (ADF), will set up a corporate base in Lithgow.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The company, NIOA has purchased Lidsdale House which sits on a 20-hectare estate divided into two separate titles on the Castlereagh Highway just outside of Lithgow. The company also supplies Australian law enforcement and commercial markets.
The house went on the market in early 2021 with a price guide of $2.5 million and was sold in October for $2.64 million.
NIOA CEO Robert Nioa said the historic residence would serve as the company's Lithgow corporate base while it explores options in the area. "Lidsdale house is one of the region's architectural treasures,'' he said.
"Our immediate plan is to establish NIOA corporate facilities there so that we can explore options in the Lithgow region to maximise sovereign small arms capability.
In the news:
The CEO was mum, saying at this stage it is too early to determine what the outcome of the aforementioned explorations will be.
Senior weapons design engineers Richard Basladynski and Jason Jonker, and weapons business development specialist Peter McLeod, all with previous associations to Lithgow-based small arms manufacturing, have recently joined NIOA.
Mr Nioa said Lithgow held a distinguished place in Australian manufacturing history as the location of the Small Arms Factory.
"Although current weapons manufacturing at Lithgow is significantly reduced in scale to previous generations, Lithgow remains an area that has a long association with the production of weapons for the ADF,'' he said.
"As the only Australian owned prime contractor in the weapons and munitions space, NIOA is committed to investing in and growing our domestic weapons and munitions industrial base.''
Lithgow has a long heritage as the "home of small arms in Australia'' having produced guns for Australian troops since World War 1. The government-owned Small Arms Factory began making the Lee-Enfield .303 bolt action rifle in 1912, which became the standard weapon of British and Empire forces.
Founded in regional Queensland in 1973, NIOA has more than 150 staff with offices and operations in Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Benalla, New Zealand, the United States and now Lithgow.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
