Fiocchi Munizioni

Last updated
Fiocchi Munizioni
Company type Private
Industry Firearms
Founded3 July 1876
FounderGiulio Fiocchi
Headquarters Lecco, Italy
Products Ammunition, cartridges
Owner Czechoslovak Group (70%)
Website fiocchi.com OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Fiocchi Munizioni is one of Italy's largest and oldest manufacturers of ammunition. The company's headquarters and main production plant are in Via Santa Barbara in Lecco, Italy.

Contents

History

Fiocchi Munizioni was founded on 3 July 1876 in Lecco, Italy, by accountant Giulio Fiocchi.

In 1876, Giulio Fiocchi took over the ammunition production part of a weapon and ammunition company already based in Lecco, which produced small-caliber ammunition.[ citation needed ]

A Fiocchi cal. 12 gauge. GFL cal.12 001.jpg
A Fiocchi cal. 12 gauge.

At that time a radical change was introduced in firearms: the newly developed breech-loader replaced the traditional muzzle loader. Fiocchi started manufacturing cases with primers suitable for reloading; in the early 1890s production was extended to complete cartridges loaded with bullets or shot. At the same time, Fiocchi gave up the production of black powder, as it was no longer profitable.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Fiocchi diversified and began making snap fasteners using scraps from cartridge production. Fiocchi Snaps was formed in 1903. It assumed an important role to counterbalance the trend of the ammunition market, but at the end of the 1980s Fiocchi made a decision to focus on ammunition as its core business, and the snaps factory was sold.

During its long life, Fiocchi has manufactured all kinds of ammunition from pinfire, shotshells, and cartridges to all kinds of cartridges and cases, both rimfire and centerfire. They manufacture rarer cartridges, for example the .455 Webley.

Recent history

Fiocchi Munizioni makes small-bore ammunition and offers a wide range of products. Its presence and production sites are also in the United States and in Hungary. In 2008 Fiocchi UK was opened in the United Kingdom.

According to a recent interview with Carlo Fiocchi, the head of Fiocchi America, more than 75% of the ammunition sold by Fiocchi in the United States is also manufactured in the United States at Fiocchi America's production facility in Ozark, Missouri. [1] Fiocchi America's composition of U.S. ammo manufacturing and sales according to the interview is as follows:

Furthermore, Fiocchi shooting cartridges have contributed to several World Cups and Olympic triumphs, as the Games in Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008.[ citation needed ]

In 2011 newly developed 12GA shotshells filled with chemical tracer Cyalume in which allows the shooter to see where the shots are going and help with training of sporting clays. The tracer shots are non-toxic and biodegradable and packaged in a sealed metal can in Fiocchi's line of Canned Heat ammunition. The Canned Heat line of ammunition allows a greater shelf life.

Fiocchi Munizioni was entirely owned by the Fiocchi Family, until Czechoslovak Group acquired 70% of the company. [2]

Fiocchi of America

In partnership with Smith & Wesson, the Fiocchi family had a factory in Alton, Illinois, in the 1950s. Diverging company interests caused Fiocchi to sell its share to Smith & Wesson and withdraw from the American market. Great-grandson Carlo Fiocchi joined the family business in 1980 at the age of 24 and worked as a product manager in charge of the English-speaking market. His responsibilities included overseeing its meagre exports to the United States. Carlo travelled to the United States on his honeymoon, with instructions to bring back marketing research for a US facility.

Carlo concluded that opportunities could not be exploited unless Fiocchi had a physical presence. In 1983, an FOA facility was built in Springfield, Missouri, to import ammunition, the location selected because of his father’s existing contacts there and that it offered the most favourable rail and trucking costs. After a year and a half, they realized that importing loaded ammunition was not an effective business model. The company couldn’t react fast enough to the needs of the US shooters. Carlo returned to Italy and convinced the president, Paolo, to build a manufacturing plant on a farm he identified in the Ozarks near Springfield. Fiocchi negotiated a purchase with the farmer and loans with the bank. Providing a platform for quality manufacturing jobs, the Fiocchi enterprise was enthusiastically welcomed by the local government.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cartridge (firearms)</span> Pre-assembled firearm ammunition consisting of a casing, projectile, propellant, and primer

A cartridge, also known as a round, is a type of pre-assembled firearm ammunition packaging a projectile, a propellant substance and an ignition device (primer) within a metallic, paper, or plastic case that is precisely made to fit within the barrel chamber of a breechloading gun, for convenient transportation and handling during shooting. Although in popular usage the term "bullet" is often used to refer to a complete cartridge, the correct usage only refers to the projectile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smith & Wesson</span> American manufacturer of firearms and ammunition

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (S&W) is an American firearm manufacturer headquartered in Maryville, Tennessee, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Table of handgun and rifle cartridges</span> Small arms cartridge data

This is a table of selected pistol/submachine gun and rifle/machine gun cartridges by common name. Data values are the highest found for the cartridge, and might not occur in the same load.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centerfire ammunition</span> Type of ammunition that is commonly found in small-, medium-, and large-caliber firearms

A centre-fire is a type of metallic cartridge used in firearms, where the primer is located at the center of the base of its casing. Unlike rimfire cartridges, the centerfire primer is typically a separate component seated into a recessed cavity in the case head and is replaceable by reloading the cartridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.45 ACP</span> Pistol cartridge designed by John Moses Browning

The .45 ACP, also known as .45 Auto, .45 Automatic, or 11.43×23mm is a rimless straight-walled handgun cartridge designed by John Moses Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic pistol. After successful military trials, it was adopted as the standard chambering for Colt's M1911 pistol. The round was developed due to a lack of stopping power experienced in the Moro Rebellion in places like Sulu. The issued ammunition, .38 Long Colt, had proved inadequate, motivating the search for a better cartridge. This experience and the Thompson–LaGarde Tests of 1904 led the Army and the Cavalry to decide that a minimum of .45 caliber was required in a new handgun cartridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rimfire ammunition</span> Type of ammunition that is only commonly found in small-caliber firearms

A rim-fire is a type of metallic cartridge used in firearms where the primer is located within a hollow circumferential rim protruding from the base of its casing. When fired, the gun's firing pin will strike and crush the rim against the edge of the barrel breech, sparking the primer compound within the rim, and in turn ignite the propellant within the case. Invented in 1845 by Louis-Nicolas Flobert, the first rimfire metallic cartridge was the .22 BB Cap cartridge, which consisted of a percussion cap with a bullet attached to the top. While many other different cartridge priming methods have been tried since the early 19th century, such as teat-fire and pinfire, only small caliber rimfire cartridges have survived to the present day with regular use. The .22 Long Rifle rimfire cartridge, introduced in 1887, is by far the most common ammunition found in the world today in terms of units manufactured and sold.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.22 Long Rifle</span> Common ammunition cartridge

The .22 Long Rifle, also known as the .22LR or 5.6×15mmR, is a long-established variety of .22 caliber rimfire ammunition originating from the United States. It is used in a wide range of firearms including rifles, pistols, revolvers, and submachine guns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.410 bore</span> Shotgun bore designed by Charles Eley and William Eley

The .410 bore (10.4 mm) is one of the smallest caliber of shotgun shell commonly available. A .410 bore shotgun loaded with shot shells is well suited for small game hunting and pest control. The .410 started off in the United Kingdom as a garden gun along with the .360 and the No. 3 bore (9 mm) rimfire, No. 2 bore (7 mm) rimfire, and No. 1 bore (6 mm) rimfire. .410 shells have similar base dimensions to the .45 Colt cartridge, allowing many single-shot firearms, as well as derringers and revolvers chambered in that caliber, to fire .410 shot shells without any modifications.

The Winchester Repeating Arms Company was a prominent American manufacturer of repeating firearms and ammunition. The firm was established in 1866 by Oliver Winchester and was located in New Haven, Connecticut. The firm went into receivership in 1931 and was bought by the Western Cartridge Company, a forerunner of the Olin Corporation. The Winchester brand name is still owned by the Olin Corporation, which makes ammunition under that name. The Winchester name is also used under license for firearms produced by two subsidiaries of the Herstal Group – FN Herstal of Belgium and the Browning Arms Company of Ogden, Utah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Headstamp</span> Markings on the bottom of a cartridge case

A headstamp is the markings on the bottom of a cartridge case designed for a firearm. It usually tells who manufactured the case. If it is a civilian case it often also tells the caliber: if it is military, the year of manufacture is often added.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smith & Wesson Model 17</span> Revolver

The Smith & Wesson K-22 Target Masterpiece Revolver is a six-shot, double-action revolver with adjustable open sights, built on the medium-size "K" frame. When introduced, it was intended for bullseye target shooting competition of the type then most common on the United States, which is today called NRA Precision Pistol, specifically in the "smallbore" or "22" category. It is chambered for the .22 Long Rifle cartridge. It is one of three similar models that Smith & Wesson offered, the other two being intended for the "centerfire" category, the K-32 Target Masterpiece chambered for the .32 S&W Long cartridge and the K-38 Target Masterpiece chambered for the .38 Special cartridge. Most K-22 revolvers were fitted with a 6 in (150 mm) or 8+38 in (210 mm) barrel, but other lengths have been produced. First produced in 1947 and originally known as the K-22 Target Masterpiece, it was numbered the Model 17 in 1957 when all Smith & Wesson guns were given numerical model numbers. It is built on the same frame as the seminal Smith & Wesson Model 10 revolver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wolf Ammunition</span>

WOLF Performance Ammunition is a trademark associated with Sporting Supplies International (SSI), a corporation founded in the United States in 2005. Most of their ammunition is primarily being manufactured by the Tula Cartridge Plant in Tula, Tula District, Russia, from 2005 to 2009. Some of their 22-caliber rimfire ammunition are also made by Eley Limited in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eley Limited</span> Ammunition manufacturer in England

Eley Limited is a British manufacturer of firearms cartridges. Historically the company has produced a broad variety of ammunition, but today specialises in .22 Long Rifle cartridges for competitive target shooting. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, six of the twelve medals for cartridge rifle and pistol were won using Eley ammunition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Premium Ammunition</span> American ammunition manufacturer

Federal Premium Ammunition is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vista Outdoor, located in Anoka, Minnesota. With a workforce of nearly 1,500, Federal manufactures shotshell, centerfire, and rimfire ammunition and components.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">5mm Remington Rimfire Magnum</span> Bottlenecked rimfire cartridge introduced by Remington Arms Company

The 5 mm Remington Rimfire Magnum or 5 mm RFM is a bottlenecked rimfire cartridge introduced by Remington Arms Company in 1969. Remington chambered it in a pair of bolt-action rifles, the Model 591 and Model 592, but this ammunition never became very popular, and the rifles were discontinued in 1974. About 52,000 rifles and 30,000 barrels for the T/C Contender pistol were sold during its brief production run. Remington discontinued the cartridge itself in 1982, leaving owners with no source of ammunition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.44 Russian</span> Revolver cartridge designed by Smith & Wesson (S&W)

The .44 Russian / 10.9x24mmR,, is a black-powder center-fire metallic revolver cartridge developed and produced by Smith & Wesson in 1870. The .44 Russian design was the first use of an internally lubricated bullet in modern firearm ammunition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.38 rimfire</span> Firearm cartridge

The .38 rimfire / 9.5x22mmRF refers to a family of cartridges that have been in service in the United States since the mid-19th century. The cartridges are produced in short, long, and extra long variants.

Small arms ammunition pressure testing is used to establish standards for maximum average peak pressures of chamberings, as well as determining the safety of particular loads for the purposes of new load development. In metallic cartridges, peak pressure can vary based on propellant used, primers used, charge weight, projectile type, projectile seating depth, neck tension, chamber throat/lead parameters. In shotshells, the primary factors are charge weight, projectile weight, wad type, hull construction, and crimp quality.

Frank Wesson rifles were a series of single-shot rifles manufactured between 1859 and 1888 in Worcester, Massachusetts. They were purchased by many state governments during the American Civil War, including Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, and Ohio. They were one of the first rifles to use rimfire metallic cartridges.

References

  1. Carlo Fiocchi Interview
  2. "CSG scouting for more acquisitions after Italian ammo maker Fiocchi". Reuters. 6 December 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2023.