Voyager Technologies announced on Sept. 8 that the GOEX plant in Camp Minden, La.—the sole black powder manufacturing facility located in the United States—has been modernized and is back in production. It’s welcome news for muzzeloading enthusiasts and a relief for a U.S. military eager to source all critical materials domestically.
“Every munition that depends on black powder depends on GOEX,” said Matt Kuta, president of Voyager Technologies. “There is no other domestic source and no substitute material. Scaling this capability strengthens the foundation of the defense industrial base, ensuring the nation’s supply chain.”
In late 2021, Hodgdon, which took ownership of GOEX in 2009, announced it was closing the plant. Then, in early 2022, Estes Energetics—a company with a sister firm that makes model rockets and their motors—acquired the firm and its assets.
In August 2022, the Department of War invested $3.5 million to upgrade the facility. The total cost of modernization over the next two years was estimated at $5.3 million.
“The Department of Defense’s DPA Title III Program Office continues to deliver on its mission of reshoring and re-establishing domestic production of materials critical to our nation’s national security needs and strategic interests,” Halimah Najieb-Locke, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Resilience, said in the announcement. “We are pleased to have the opportunity to support this U.S. company as it works to restart the American-based supply chain of this important propellant.”
In 2024, GOEX committed to a $7.2 million expansion. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers later issued a contract valued at $8.6 million to further the modernization.
Voyager Technologies acquired Estes Energetics, including its GOEX operations, in November 2025. “This significantly strengthens the position of our propulsion capabilities from ground to orbit,” Dylan Taylor, chairman and CEO of Voyager said in the announcement. “As global supply chains become increasingly fragile, these capabilities must be built, qualified and safeguarded here at home, with transparent certification, rigorous safety oversight and the surge capacity to meet urgent operational needs.”
GOEX began in 1802 when E.I. Du Pont de Nemours established a black powder production plant in Delaware. Manufacturing moved to Pennsylvania in 1912 and to its current location in 1997.
