FN America, LLC, the U.S. subsidiary of FN Herstal, S.A., plans to open a new production facility in Liberty, Pickens County, South Carolina. FN America will invest $33 million into the construction of the new 100,000+ square-foot facility. The expansion will add 176 new jobs to the company’s workforce and add new manufacturing capacity to meet the increasing demand for FN products. FN American will break ground on its new facility in 2024 with anticipated completion in 2025.

“FN has experienced significant growth over the last several years and demand for our products continues to increase in all market segments that we serve,” said Mark Cherpes, President and CEO for FN America.

$18 Million Expansion of FN’s Current Columbia, South Carolina Production Center
Following the announcement of the company’s plans to construct a new, second production facility in Liberty, South Carolina, FN America announced a $18 million expansion of its current Columbia, South Carolina facility. This plan will add more than 40,000-square-feet of manufacturing capacity and office space. In addition, FN American will create a Design Center for new proeduct research and development. The expansion will add 102 new positions to the company’s existing workforce. This $18 million project is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.

For more than 40 years, FN has operated a production facility in Richland County, South Carolina and has produced more than 1 million small arms under contract to the U.S. Department of Defense. Currently, FN America employs more than 600 individuals to produce firearms, accessories and other products for the U.S. military, law enforcement agencies, and the retail gun market. The company has produced the M4A1, M16A4, M249 light machine gun, M240 medium machine gun and FN SCAR under contract for the U.S. military as well as the FN 509 striker-fired pistol line used by U.S. law enforcement agencies.

The FN Herstal episode (on the Outdoor Channel) is previewed in this video starting at 00:30. You may learn some surprising facts. Did you know that FN’s factories also produced bicycles, cars, trucks and motorcycles?

Preview Fabrique Nationale Episode on American Rifle Television

Fabrique Nationale d’Herstal (aka FN Herstal) is a major firearms manufacturer located in Herstal, Belgium. This enterprise is currently the largest exporter of military small arms in Europe. Firearms manufactured by FN Herstal include the Browning Hi-Power pistol, Five-seven pistol, FAL rifle, FNC rifle, F2000 rifle, P90 submachine gun, M2 Browning machine gun, MAG machine gun, and Minimi machine gun.

History of Fabrique Nationale d’Herstal
FN Herstal originated in the small city of Herstal, near Liège. The Fabrique Nationale d’Armes de Guerre (French for National Factory of Weapons of War) was established in 1889 to manufacture 150,000 Mauser Model 1889 rifles ordered by the Belgian Government. FN was co-founded by the major arms makers of the Liège region, with Henri Pieper of Anciens Etablissements Pieper being the driving force and the primary shareholder of the new company. In 1897 the company entered into a long-lasting relationship with American Gun Designer John Moses Browning.

American gun designer John Moses Browning did the preliminary design work for the Browning GP35 ‘High Power’ (sometimes written as Hi-Power) pistol, the GP standing for Grande Puissance or “high power” in French. However, the weapon was finalized by Dieudonné Saive and did not appear until nearly a decade after Browning’s death.

The American Connection — Winchester and Browning
FN Herstal is a subsidiary of the Belgian Herstal Group, which also owns U.S. Repeating Arms Company (Winchester) and Browning Arms Company. FN Herstal is the parent company of two United States entities: FN Manufacturing and FNH USA. FN Manufacturing in Columbia, SC, is the manufacturing branch of FN Herstal in the United States, producing firearms such as the M249 and M240 machine guns and M16 rifle, among others. FNH USA, located in McLean, VA, is the American sales and marketing branch of FN Herstal.