HS Produkt

Infobox Company
name = HS Produkt

type = Private
genre =
foundation = Ozalj, Croatia (1990)
founder = Ivan Žabčić & Marko Vuković
location_city = Karlovac
location_country = Croatia
location =
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key_people =
industry = Defense
products = Handguns, assault rifles
services =
revenue =
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assets =
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owner =
num_employees = ~1000 (2007)
parent =
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HS Produkt d.o.o. is a Croatian firearms manufacturing company, known for design and production of HS 2000, a semi-automatic pistol sold in the US market as Springfield Armory XD.

History

HS Produkt was founded as IM Metal in 1990, during the initial democratic changes in the Republic of Croatia. The company was situated in the town of Ozalj, Croatia, about 50 kilometers southwest of the capital Zagreb; in 2000 it was relocated to Karlovac.

At the beginning of 2001, following the success of the HS 2000 pistols on the world market, the company changed its name to HS Produkt.

HS Produkt's current production facility produces about 30,000 pistols per year with a trend of continued growth; ninety percent of production is exported to the United States.cite journal| last=Orešić| first=Boris| date=9 November 2007| title=Hrvatska puška na Bushevom ramenu| journal=Globus| issue=883| pages=84–88| language=Croatian] The number of employees rose from around 80 in 2000 to nearly 1000 in 2007, making HS Produkt the leading employer in Karlovac County.

Founders and co-owners of HS Produkt, Ivan Žabčić and Marko Vuković, are both mechanical engineers; Vuković is the chief designer behind most of the company's products.

Early products

Company's first design was the PHP ( _hr. "Prvi hrvatski pištolj") semi-automatic pistol, manufactured from 1991 to 1994. It was based on Walther P38, with some features common with Beretta 92. The second handgun model was the HS 95, described as an unlicensed copy of SIG Sauer P226 with some original external features. [cite web| url=http://securityarms.com/20010315/galleryfiles/1800/1834.htm| title=RH-ALAN HS-95 (Croatia)] These early all-metal pistols were considered solid designs, but were plagued by quality issues due in large part to the difficulties of manufacturing during wartime.cite web| url=http://www.xd-hs2000.com/hsarms/news/smarms_5_01.html| title=The Croatian Service Pistols| publisher="The Small Arms Review"| date=May 2001| last=Kotnik| first=Jani] [cite web| url=http://www.xd-hs2000.com/hsarms/news/swat_12_00.html| title=A New Polymer-Frame Service Pistol From Croatia| last=Fortier| first=David M.| date=December 2000| publisher="S.W.A.T."]

HS 2000 pistol

The company's most successful product, the HS 2000 polymer-framed semi-automatic pistol, was HS Produkt's third pistol in a series developed on the basis of experience gained during the Croatian War of Independence. It is marketed in the US by Springfield Armory, Inc. under the XD brand.

Today the pistol is the standard sidearm of the Croatian Armed Forces and Police.cite web| url=http://www.usembassy.hr/military/odc/immetal.htm| title= HS PRODUKT d.o.o.| publisher=Embassy of the United States of America, Zagreb, Croatia] It has attained a niche of its own on the world market; as of 2007, more than 500,000 pistols have been sold in the US, where it is popular both with law enforcement and the country's civilian market.

VHS assault rifle

The most recent product announced by HS Produkt is the VHS assault rifle, a 5.56x45mm NATO bullpup select-fire weapon. The VHS rifle was first introduced at the 2007 iKA, the annual Croatian innovation display that takes place in the city of Karlovac. The development was carried on following a request of the Croatian Army for a new infantry rifle to update the individual equipment to NATO standards.

The information on the rifle is still somewhat sketchy. Apparently at least two prototypes have been produced: one superficially resembles the French FAMAS rifle [http://www.morh.hr/n_pic/bpic/puska19112007_v.jpg] , while the other has been compared with the Israeli IMI Tavor TAR-21.cite web| url=http://www.securityarms.com/20010315/galleryfiles/3000/3088.htm| title=A new Croatian Bullpup Assault Rifle by HS Produkt for the Croatian Army: Croatian VHS Assault Rifle] The rifle is 750 mm long, with a 500 mm barrel. Polymer parts are extensively used in the construction, and the weight of the rifle has been variously reported as 2.3 kg and 3 kg.

On November 19, the Croatian Ministry of Defence placed an order for an experimental batch of 50 rifles to be tested by the Croatian contingent currently deployed in Afghanistan within the ISAF. Full scale production will begin towards the end of 2008, when field testing is expected to be completed. Other nations, including Kuwait and Venezuela already showed interest in acquiring the rifle.

References