Norma Precision AB, commonly referred to simply as Norma, is a Swedish manufacturer of

firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

ammunition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other we ...

based in

Åmotfors Åmotfors is a bimunicipal locality situated in Eda Municipality and Arvika Municipality Arvika Municipality (''Arvika kommun'') is a municipality in Värmland County in west central Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Arvika. The prese ...

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 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 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 o ...

(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 A projectile is an object that is propelled by the application of an external force and then moves freely under the influence of gravity and air resistance. Although any objects in motion through space are projectiles, they are commonly found i ...

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 ''s ...

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 countries, 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 ...

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

Italian opera Italian opera is both the art of opera in Italy and opera in the Italian language. Opera was born in Italy around the year 1600 and Italian opera has continued to play a dominant role in the history of the form until the present day. Many famous ...

'' Norma'' 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 The Swedish shooting movement ( sv, Skarpskytterörelsen) was a voluntary defense movement which started in Sweden in the 1860s inspired by similar foreign movements like the National Rifle Association of the United Kingdom and the Schweizeris ...

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 countries, Nordic c ...

and

were in a union. 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 na ...

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

, 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 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 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