US Ballistic To Start Churning Out 155-mm Military Artillery Shells In Cody

Artillery is still the queen of the battlefield, and new business venture in Cody aims to help meet the demand for ammunition by churning out 155-millimeter high-explosive shells. 

A company called US Ballistic Laboratories plans to set up shop in the former Cody Laboratories pharmaceuticals building on Road 2AB at the northern edge of town.  

Because of its relative isolation, Cody might seem like an odd location for a major military ordnance supplier. 

In fact, Cody beat out possible locations in both Georgia, the European country and Georgia, the U.S. state — as well as sites in Romania, Poland and Texas, US Ballistic Laboratories CEO John McCue told Cowboy State Daily. 

An existing suitable industrial site was a big plus for Cody. And Wyoming has a patriotic and firearms-friendly culture, added McCue, a Cody native who has owned several local businesses, including a gun shop. 

“There’s a lot of places where the culture of the state isn’t really supportive of what we’re doing,” McCue said. 

US Ballistic Laboratories will assemble shells, initially including some components shipped from overseas, he said.

“The end goal is for everything to be 100% American,” McCue added.  

The Demand Is There

McCue and the company’s chief operations officer Story have connections in Ukraine and support that country’s fight against Russia. 

While modern artillery shelling tactics date back to World War I, and might seem antiquated, the war and Ukraine has demonstrated just how effective big guns still are, McCue said. 

In that war, “drones have moved into replacing machine guns” as the primary weapon to directly attack enemy troops on the ground. 

But artillery barrages have proven effective in driving enemy forces back and laying waste to equipment and fortifications, he said. 

In the grim mathematics of warfare, “it normally comes down to the cost-per-kill. Artillery is one of the more effective cost-per-kill items you can use,” McCue said. 

The Department of Defense has called for an uptick in artillery shell production, hoping to reach 100,000 rounds per month as soon as possible. 

The US Ballistic Laboratories hopes to help meet that demand, McCue said. He wouldn’t tip his hand on exactly when the company hopes to start assembling and packing shells, how many it initially plans to produce or where they’ll be sent. 

There’s a rail spur near the site on Road 2AB, so some of the shipments will go out by train. Others will be trucked out. 

Regarding why 155-milimeter shells are the chosen product, McCue said that’s the standard artillery round for the U.S. and its NATO allies. 

Building Has A History In Cody

The site on Road 2AB was built as part of planned expansion of the Cody Laboratories pharmaceutical operations. But the company shut down its operations in Cody in 2018. 

Later, Kanye West considered setting up a shoe factory for his Yeezy brand there but abandoned that idea in 2020 – and the building has sat empty ever since. 

The facility was built according to pharmaceutical manufacturing safety standards, which exceed those for assembling explosive military ordinance, McCue said. 

That’s yet another reason why US Ballistic Laboratories chose the site, he said. 

And Cody being his hometown certainly didn’t hurt. 

“I just want to see Cody succeed,” he said. 

Hopes To Ramp Up

McCue said he couldn’t share specifics regarding the company’s plans for the number of employees or hoped-for expansions. 

The initial workforce will be 10 to 30 people and “will scale up as we get into production,” he said. 

A key component will be the security force, he said. Because they’ll be guarding a military-grade facility, security personnel will have to be among the top tier in their profession.

Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.