ŒWG
 |
|
| AG | |
| Industry | Firearms |
| Predecessor | Steyr-Daimler-Puch |
| Founded | April 16, 1864 |
| Founder | Josef Werndl |
| Headquarters | Sankt Ulrich bei Steyr, Steyr-Land District, Upper Austria, Austria |
|
Area served
|
worldwide |
| Products |
Pistols Rifles Submachine gun Machine gun Combination guns Grenade launchers |
| Subsidiaries | Steyr Arms Inc. |
| Website | www.steyr-mannlicher.com |
Steyr Mannlicher is a firearms manufacturer based in Sankt Ulrich bei Steyr, Austria. Originally part of Steyr-Daimler-Puch, it became independent when the conglomerate was broken up in 1989.
Steyr has been on the "iron road" to the nearby Erzberg mine since the days of the Styrian Otakar dukes and their Babenberg successors in the 12th and 13th century, and has been known as an industrial site for forging weapons. The privilege of iron and steel production, particularly for knives, was renewed by the Habsburg duke Albert of Austria in 1287. After the Thirty Years' War, thousands of muskets, pistols, and carbines were produced annually for the Habsburg Imperial Army.
In 1821, Leopold Werndl (1797–1855), a blacksmith in Steyr, began manufacturing iron parts for weapons. After his father's death, 24-year-old Josef Werndl (1831–1889) took over his factory. On April 16, 1864, he founded the "Josef und Franz Werndl & Comp. Waffenfabrik und Sägemühle in Oberletten" (Josef and Franz Werndl & Partners Weapons Factory and Sawmill in Oberletten), from which later emerged the "Österreichische Waffenfabriksgesellschaft" (ŒWG, Austrian Arms-Manufacturing Company), a (AG) since 1869, of which the Steyr Mannlicher firearm production was a part.
Werndl's cooperation with engineer Ferdinand Mannlicher (1848–1904), who had patented an advanced repeating rifle in use by the Austro-Hungarian Army, made ŒWG one of the largest weapon manufacturers in Europe. First applied in 1890, the Mannlicher M1901, and the Steyr-Hahn M1912 became milestones in auto-loading pistol technology. At the beginning of World War I, with more than 15,000 employees, production output was 4,000 weapons per day.
...
Wikipedia