7 On The Road: Helanbak triggers hometown pride

COLUMBIA, Miss. (WDAM) - The pieces may seem small scale, but with each piece, a bigger picture.

“We take essentially, just a standard piece of metal right here and we turn it into something such as this,” said Taylor Clark, holding up a finished piece of a soon to be gun.

Clark is the production manager at Helanbak in Columbia, a manufacturer, specializing in guns, sawmill blades, pipes, and machines. When it comes to those guns, they’re not just your everyday handguns.

Helanbak also puts together high powered rifles, with precision.

“Usually with an AR-15, we’re looking at somewhere between 50 or so parts per gun,” said Clark.

Helanbak has been transforming metal for years, and with each piece, a product etched with hometown pride.

“That’s going to be made in Mississippi," said Clark That’s our big brand, is made in Mississippi and ready to go.”

That sense of pride came to be when the company’s owner put down roots in Columbia. With it, the aim to put hometown folks to work.

Right now, about ten people run the operation, making Helanbak what it is today.

“It’s kind of what we’re trying to do in small-town America. We’re actually producing items and making jobs for our people that have to move off. They don’t have to work in the oil field or anything like that. They can stay home and make a living,” said Clark.

Helanbak sells to both public and private markets and even takes on government contracts, sending those Mississippi made products all over the country.

With hometown structure as the target, the company also teams up with local charities and law enforcement agencies to showcase high caliber work, done on a local level.