SIGARMS

From Free net encyclopedia

SIGARMS is the American incarnation of Swiss manufacturing firm Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (SIG), a company most famous for its firearms, as SIG Arms AG. SIGARMS was set up in 1985 in order to manufacture and import SIG's firearms into the USA, although as of 2000 it has been a separate entity. The original SIG Arms AG parent company was simultaneously renamed as Swiss Arms AG.

1 History
2 Products
- 2.1 Handguns
- 2.2 Rifles
3 Machine Guns
4 External links

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History

The origins of SIGARMS stem from a wagon factory created in 1853 by Friedrich Peyer im Hof, Heinrich Moser and Conrad Neher. Upon winning a contract to produce 30,000 muzzle-loading rifles, they changed their name to Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (SIG), German for "Swiss Industrial Company." SIG produced what is widely considered to be one of the finest semi-automatic pistols in the SIG 210 series. Their high cost, however, limited their market. SIG began work on desiging a pistol that would be advanced yet affordable. Eventually, SIG decided that it would be most cost effective to enter into a business collaboration with the German gunmaker of J.P.Sauer & Sohn. Thus, the Sig-Sauer line of handguns was born in the 1970s.

In 1975, SIG teamed up with the German company J.P.Sauer & Sohn to produce the SIG SAUER Sig P220 handgun, still renowned for its accuracy and durability. Pre-WWII, Sauer had been primarily a maker of fine shotguns and hunting rifles. During the war they had produced one of the finest and most advanced semi-automatic pistols ever built, the Sauer 38H. However, after the war, Sauer had retreated from this market. With SIG, Sauer would again be back in the business of building advanced handguns.

In 1985, SIGARMS was created as the American branch of SIG in Tysons Corner, Virginia to import the P220 and P230. In 1987 SIGARMS moved to Herndon, Virginia, and in 1990 moved to Exeter, New Hampshire to accommodate new manufacturing.

The American SIGARMS distribution company was bought by Michael Lueke and Thomas Ortmeier in October, 2000.

SIGARMS also operates a world-class firearms training school, the SIGARMS Academy, in New Hampshire.

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