Cartridge shortages are periodic and have a variety of catalysts. A few of the reasons include armed conflicts thousands of miles away, heightened defense procurement to discourage them, raw material shortages, rumors and more. Hoarding and gouging are common byproducts that amplify the pain.
Thankfully we are not experiencing one right now, although their frequency and challenges haven’t escaped the notice of Tampa, Fla.-based D&M Holding Company. The firm specializes in design and manufacture of ammunition and energetics equipment and turnkey factories for customers worldwide to support the defense and sporting markets.
D&M Holding was established in 2018 by Dan Powers, former president of SIG Sauer’s Ammunition division, B.J. Roberts and defense industry executive James Jones. Its White River Energetics (WRE) subsidiary has two operations based in Arkansas.
In September 2025, D&H Holding highlighted its propellant manufacturing capabilities at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) UK show in London. Earlier this year, it did the same at the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show in Las Vegas and IWI Outdoor Classics in Nuremburg, Germany.
Helping allied nations produce their own propellant and cartridges reduces a measured amount of strain on stateside supply, but there’s more to the D&M Holding story. In September 2024, it announced the investment of $70 million to expand its current WRE ammunition primer and energetics facility in Des Arc, Ark., and building a single-base, smokeless propellant factory.
“Currently, there is a worldwide shortage of smokeless propellant that is affecting munitions availability globally,” said Powers, who is president and CEO of D&M Holding. “This will be the first single-base propellant factory to be built in the United States in over 50 years.”
At the time, WRE employed 125 employees at the Des Arc facility. The expansion will add 100 new jobs and increase that campus from 14,000 square feet to more than 100,000 square feet of manufacturing space. Construction is expected to be complete the first quarter of 2026.
D&M Holding and the Ukrainian Defense Industry Joint Stock Company (JSC) also recently announced a partnership to produce specialty chemicals in the United States to address the critical shortage of propellant used in the production of ammunition for Ukrainian defense forces. Prior to this project, D&M Holding built a multi-million-dollar ammunition facility in Ukraine for the Ukraine Defense Industry and has several other projects in the works there, including a primer facility.
“Global demand for reliable supplies of powder and ammunition is soaring as a matter of National Security, and D&M is working nonstop to support the U.S., NATO countries and other friendly foreign governments,” Powers said. “We are the only company in the industry that offers solutions for all ammunition components including ammunition factories, primer factories and propellant factories.”
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