Norma Precision AB, commonly referred to simply as Norma, is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

manufacturer of firearm ammunition based in

Åmotfors Åmotfors is a bimunicipal locality situated in Eda Municipality and Arvika Municipality, Värmland County Värmland County (''Värmlands län'') is a county or '' län'' in west central Sweden. It borders the Swedish counties of Dalarna, Ö ...

Värmland Värmland () also known as Wermeland, is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in west-central Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland, and Närke, and is bounded by Norway in the west. Latin name versions are '' ...

, just off the Norwegian border.

History

Norma was started in 1902 by three

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

brothers from

Nordre Land Nordre Land is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Land. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Dokka. Other villages in the municipality include Vest-Torpa, Nord-T ...

, Lars Enger (1850-1917), Johan Enger (1852-1925) and Ivar Enger (1863-1942), whose company L.A.Enger & Co acquired an ammunition factory in

Raufoss Raufoss is the administrative centre of Vestre Toten Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located about south of the larger town of Gjøvik. The village area is located along the municipal border with the neighboring Gjøvi ...

and later moved to

Kristiania Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

(modern day

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

) as Norma Projektilfabrik A/S (Norma projectile factory stock company) a few years earlier in 1895. The name "Norma" has often been confused as a

shorthand Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed and brevity of writing as compared to longhand, a more common method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Greek ''st ...

for

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

or "Norge" (

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

in Nordic), however the name was actually chosen because Lars, the eldest of the three brothers, was very fond of the Italian opera ''

Norma Norma may refer to: * Norma (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Astronomy *Norma (constellation) *555 Norma, a minor asteroid * Cygnus Arm or Norma Arm, a spiral arm in the Milky Way galaxy Geography *Norma, Lazi ...

'' by

Vincenzo Bellini Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (; 3 November 1801 – 23 September 1835) was a Sicilian opera composer, who was known for his long-flowing melodic lines for which he was named "the Swan of Catania". Many years later, in 1898, Gius ...

. The Swedish shooting movement needed a supplier and Norma Projektilfabrik A/S was asked to establish a local presence in Sweden. At this time,

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

and

were in a

union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

. The youngest of three Enger brothers, Ivar (father of polar explorer

Lillemor Rachlew Ingebjørg Lillemor Rachlew (née Enger; 1902-1983) was a Norwegian polar explorer. She was one of four Norwegians who were the first women to set foot on the Antarctic mainland. After their landing in 1937 the Four Ladies Bank in Prydz Bay was n ...

), took a train to Sweden and simply got off at the first stop on the other side of the border,

Charlottenberg Charlottenberg is a locality in Värmland County, Sweden, and the administrative centre of Eda Municipality. Situated some seven kilometres from the Norwegian border, the town has a population of around 3,000. Charlottenberg railway station is t ...

, and made inquiries about a suitable factory building. However he found the town council took no interest in their plans and the only available site had already been taken by a

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

factory, so he decided to try his luck farther into Sweden. The next train stop was Åmotfors, where the Enger brothers were better welcomed and decided to establish their company. Just before 1900, the father of the Enger brothers, Asmund Enger, obtained a handful of the secretive French ''Balle'' D projectiles through a friend during a shooting competition in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and with the help of their foreman and ballistic engineer Karl Wang (1881-1951), the Enger brothers developed a process whereby a boat tail could be applied to a

spitzer bullet The spitzer bullet (or spire point) is a pointed projectile that is primarily used in small-arms. The pointed nose shape, which was developed for military purposes in the late 19th and early 20th century, was a major design improvement compared ...

in a very consistent manner, giving Norma an edge. From the start until the middle of the century, production was dominated by military ammunition standards. After some time, however, the company perceived a market for hunting ammunition. Norma was also beginning to make international connections which, combined with military interest, forced more modern thinking and necessitated new products. Nils Kvale and

Roy Weatherby Roy Edward Weatherby (4 September 1910 — 4 April 1988), was the founder and owner of Weatherby, Inc., an American rifle, shotgun and cartridge manufacturing company founded 1945. Weatherby created an entire line of custom cartridges, and was ...

were invaluable for Norma's success in the latter half of the 20th century. Kvale was a product developer for the company in the 1960s and introduced a number of new calibers such as the

.308 Norma Magnum The .308 Norma Magnum (7.62×65mmBR) cartridge was created by Nils Kvale at Norma, Sweden. Like the larger .358 Norma Magnum it is based on a shortened 300 H&H magnum. It very closely resembled the wildcat .30-338 Magnum cartridge. Kvale desi ...

and .358 Norma Magnum to the market. Kvale's cooperation with

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

colleagues made Norma well known as a producer of high quality rifle ammunition. Today, Norma has a yearly production of about 30 million rounds in 110 calibers.
Norma official web site. Retrieved 5 June 2021. As such, Norma produces one of the largest assortments of rifle ammunition in the world.

References

External links

*
RUAG
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norma (Company) Ammunition manufacturers Firearm manufacturers of Sweden Defence companies of Sweden Privately held companies of Sweden Companies based in Värmland County