Italian gun maker Beretta says it is building a new manufacturing and research facility in Gallatin, Tenn.
The $45 million plant in the Sumner County is projected to create 300 new jobs.
The family-owned company has operated in Italy since 1526. Beretta makes a variety of firearms, ranging from hunting shotguns to the U.S. Armed Forces M9 pistol.
Several states began wooing Beretta from Maryland after the company raised objections to a wide-ranging gun control measure enacted there last year. Company officials said Wednesday that have reached capacity in Maryland, requiring the expansion elsewhere.
Beretta said it plans to complete the new facility this year.