MANITOWOC, Wis. —  Andy Yohnk looked on as a machine loaded 9MM rounds of ammunition.

He’s the production manager for the loading department at AMMO, Inc. in Manitowoc.

The Arizona-headquartered company announced it is working on donating a million rounds of 7.62x39 ammunition to the Ukraine military as it battles Russian invaders.

What You Need To Know

  • AMMO, Inc. is offering to donate 1 million rounds of ammunition to the Ukrainian Armed Forces

  • The Arizona-based company has a production facilities in Manitowoc

  • The company said Friday it’s working on legal and logistical matters to move the donation forward​

“I’m proud to be part of something where we’re helping out the the little guy and doing everything we can to help out the Ukrainian people,” he said.

Earlier this week company said it was working “around the clock” to navigate the legal and logistical matters tied to the donation.

Yohnk watched the machine making occasional adjustments on a touchscreen. The ammunition slide out of the machine into a bucket. From time to time, Yohnk reached in— or intercepts the rounds before they fall into the pile— to inspect the ammunition by hand.

“It’s just nice to know the ammunition is going to somewhere where it can actually be used to keep themselves safe,” he said.

The donation has been well received by employees, said Vice President of Operations Jim Mann.

“We have a proud group of employees that do enjoy helping from that standpoint and want to help anywhere that they can,” he said.

AMMO, Inc. has about 300 employees at production facilities in Manitowoc. It produces ammunition for the commercial market as well as the Department of Defense and law enforcement agencies.

The business is growing and will move into a new building this summer, Mann said.

“As we continue to grow that business is great to be able to participate in a donation like that and provide some of that and be able to give back,” he said.

The machine continued spit out rounds. Yohnk climbed a ladder and added additional brass casing to the loading machine.

“People are very excited to be part of it. It’s something we can do to help the little guy and help out the country of Ukraine,” he said. “Get the people what they need. Every little bit helps.”

AMMO encouraged people wanting to make donations to CARE, a humanatirian organzation with a Ukrainian crisis fund to help women, girls, families and the elderly in Ukraine.