Norma (company)

Norma is a Swedish manufacturer of ammunition located in Åmotfors, in the province of Värmland, just 20 km of the Norwegian border.

History

Norma was started in 1902 by the Enger brothers from Oslo, who a few years earlier started "Norma Projektilfabrik A/S". The name "Norma" has, contrary to what someone would think, nothing to do with Norwegian or Normandy. The name was chosen because one of the Enger brothers was very fond of the opera "Norma" by Bellini.

The Swedish shooting movement needed a Swedish supplier and "Norma Projektilfabrik A/S" was asked to establish in Sweden. At this time, Sweden and Norway were united. The Enger brothers took the train to Sweden and simply got of at the first stop on the other side of the border, Charlottenberg, and made inquiries for a suitable factory building. However they found the town council to take no interest in their plans and therefore decided to try their luck further into Sweden. Next stop was Åmotfors, where the brothers were better welcomed and decided to established their company.

From start to the middle of the century, the production was dominated by military ammunition standards. After a while though, hunting ammunition seemed to be more interesting. Norma began to make international connections by this time. This, combined with military interest, forced more modern thinking and new products, which the company pursued with impressive precision.

Nils Kvale and Roy Weatherby were invaluable for Norma's success in the latter half of the 20th century. Nils Kvale was a visionary and competent product developer. In the 1960s, a couple of new calibers, like the .308 Norma Magnum and .358 Norma Magnum, were introduced on the market. Nils Kvale's cooperation with American colleagues made Norma well known as a producer of high quality rifle ammunition.

Today, Norma has a yearly production of about 23 million rounds in 70 calibers. As such, Norma has one of the largest assortments of rifle ammunition in the world.

Norma 1902-2002

* 1895 Norma projektilfabrik A/S in Oslo is founded.
* 1902 A small factory is opened in Åmotfors with one employee and two machines.
* 1911 A factory is built.
* 1940 Significant expansion, 10 new factories are added.
* 1942 800 employees.
* 1950 Norma starts to sell hunting ammunition by export.
* 1965 Merger of Norma and Svenska Metallverken.
* 1967 Opening of a new factory with 530 employees.
* 1975 Hasselfors Bruks AB becomes new owner.
* 1979 FFV becomes new owner. Structural rationalisation. The military production moves to Vanäsverken.
* 1990 Dynamit Nobel Tyskland becomes new owner.
* 2002 RUAG becomes new owner.

References

External links

* [http://www.norma.cc/default.asp?Lang=2 Norma]
* [http://www.ruag.com RUAG]