Ammunition

First Breach is a family business, and that might seem like nothing new in this industry. However, it’s a family business with a unique blend of experience from the high-precision medical environment and the military. Jeffrey Low, who has an extensive background in numerous outpatient ambulatory imaging and surgical centres, is the company’s CEO and co-founded it alongside his son Jordan. Following a commendable career as a sharpshooter in the Israeli military’s prestigious Golani Brigade on numerous tours of Gaza and Lebanon, Jordan left the military with two things on his mind: he wanted to start a business in the defence industry, and he wanted to work with his family. 

The duo started First Breach in 2018 with the aim of becoming a leading manufacturer of match-grade ammo components in the United States. The company now produces a wide range of high-quality brass cups, brass casings, full-metal-jacket projectiles, lead projectile cores, and lead wire from its facility in Hagerstown, Maryland, and has even expanded into complete rounds in recent years.

“We are still a very young company, as well as being aggressive and idealistic,” explains Jeffrey on the latest episode of the Gun Trade World podcast.  

“Since we started, our aim has been to keep things under our control. Quality is our number one priority. We really felt that manufacturing in America is something that has been lost for quite some time, so Jordan and I really wanted to place a big emphasis on that. 

“The culture that we have created here is about American-made. A number of our staff are veterans, which is something we love and are proud to talk about. For the employees that we have here, we’re not just a punch line. They want to be here, and ‘Made in America’ really means something to them.”

The First Breach difference

Jeffrey and Jordan are very proud of the fact that they are among a very small number of companies owned by Americans that make ammunition in America from scratch – a fact that gives them great control over quality, performance, and also innovation in the sector.

“We are really doing everything from soup to nuts,” says Jeffrey. “If you look at the lines that we have, we make our own 9mm casings, we make our own .223 casings, our own 5.56 casings, and our own cups for all three of those. We make our own lead wires, lead cores, and projectiles – so we have about six different lines here.

“We’ve got to this point pretty quickly and, with our staff, we’re always talking about our growth and how we can expand into other calibres and what that will take. Having a relatively small team is a real benefit for achieving quick growth into different product categories. You do the analysis, but you can make decisions really quickly.” 

A large percentage of the products First Breach makes are for the defence and law enforcement markets, but it also has growing interest from the civilian market. Whichever customers it is working with, the company offers the ability to order custom head stamped casings as well as a wide range of grain size options for projectiles.

A new evolution in the skies

A recent development behind the factory doors at First Breach is the expansion into drone manufacturing. The company recently started a joint venture entity with leading global drone expert ideaForge to manufacture and distribute dual-use drones and ammunition in its Hagerstown, Maryland, factory. The joint venture is called First Forge Technology Inc, and it’s an exciting new chapter for Jeffrey and his team.

Jeffrey explains: “The process of starting this joint venture took about five months, with ideaForge coming to visit our factory here in Hagerstown. We hit it off with them right away – on a manufacturing level, on a personal level, and on a vision level.

“It’s exciting to work with the third largest dual (commercial and defence application) drone company in the world – an ideaForge drone takes off every three minutes around the world. The guys there really wanted to penetrate the US market and wanted a new partner to do that – we became that partner with mutual exclusivity.”

This partnership means that ideaForge drones will now be manufactured at the First Breach facility, not only benefitting them but also allowing First Breach to execute a strategic expansion into the UAV market.

“We are well-positioned to meet the growing demand for advanced aerial systems in both defence and commercial markets. It’s an exciting time for us,” concludes Jeffrey. 

Listen to the full interview with Jeffrey on the Gun Trade World podcast.

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1xWQNUCKcEux9BBvGD7WG7?si=2c91818857864bd6

APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-gun-trade-world-podcast/id1589775470?i=1000748004846