Corporate History
On July 3, 1889, a company was established in the town of Herstal in Belgium to manufacture 150,000 Mauser rifles for the Belgian government. From the seed planted that day grew the world’s leading developer of small arms – FN Herstal. Throughout the 20th century the company flourished as it developed a series of world-leading weapons and ammunition, and in the 21st century has continued to add to its reputation for innovation and reliability.
Having been established as a rifle factory as Fabrique Nationale d’Armes de Guerre, FN added a cartridge factory in the early 1890s, and began gathering expertise in the production of ammunition. Shortly after, the factory struck up a cooperation with the renowned US firearms designer John M. Browning, and between the two they developed a series of world-beating weapons.
Browning’s first pistols were produced before World War I, and it is thought that a 1910 model was the weapon that was used to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand, an act that precipitated the conflict. However, it was the BAR rifle of the 1920s that first marked out FN as a leading gun manufacturer on the world scale. In 1935 the influential 9mm Hi Power pistol entered production, having been designed by Browning before he died in 1926, in collaboration with the Belgian Dieudonné J. Saive. The pistol is still widely used around the world today.
In the post-World War II era FN continued to develop oustanding weapons and ammunition. The FN® FAL rifle of the 1950s became one of the most widely used in the world, while the first NATO standard round – in 7.62mm caliber – was developed by FN. In the 1970s the company also developed NATO’s standard 5.56mm SS109 round.
The year 1970 saw changes for the company as it altered its name to Fabrique Nationale Herstal and, more importantly, it acquired the Browning Arms Company, enabling the company greater access to the US market and marking a major milestone in its global expansion. Before long new equipment was being sold to the US military, initially in the form of the FN MAG® (M240) 7.62mm machine gun and followed up in the 1980s by the FN MINIMI® (M249) 5.56mm weapon. In the early 2000s the FN SCAR® assault rifle was developed to meet a US specification, and has subsequently become a popular weapon with many forces.
In the late 1970s FN Herstal also began to broaden its activities to include weapon mounting systems, and self-contained gun pods for aerial use. This opened up a new business line that has expanded to now include remote weapon stations.
After over 125 years of existence, and nearly a century as one of the world’s leading firearms companies, FN Herstal today has grown in both size and reputation to become one of the most trusted names in defense and security equipment. Although the weapons and technologies may have changed, since the early years, the company remains committed to providing the best weapons in the world, supported by the best service capabilities.
We are looking for new talent
To continue to provide our customers with high added value solutions and meet tomorrow’s challenges, FN Herstal is looking for new talent at many levels of the organization.
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