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June 20th, 2012
 Eurenco (European Energetics Corporation) is a French company owned by the SNPE Group. Eurenco specializes in production of propellants and explosives. Eurenco currently owns and operates five modern production plants in Belgium (Clermont), Finland (Vihtavuori), France (Bergerac, Sorgues) and Sweden (Bofors AB, Karlskoga). Readers are doubtless familiar with Vihtavuori powders, which are marketed and distributed by the Nammo Lapua group based in Finland. Though Nammo Lapua distributes Vihtavuori powder, Eurenco actually owns the Vihtavuori factory located in Vihtavuori, Finland.
Eurenco Looks for Buyer for Vihtavuori Plant
On June 18, Eurenco stated that it is “considering” selling the Vihtavuori Ltd. production facility to a third party. This factory currently employs 100 workers, and has annual revenues of $15 million Euros.
 Eurenco hopes to sell the plant to a Finnish company, and we are informed that at least one investment group from Finland is interested. Eurenco revealed no immediate plans to shut the facility or to curtail production while Eurenco seeks a buyer. However, Eurenco said that the primary reason for selling the plant was reduced military demand for Vihtavuori products in recent years.
Read Related News Story from Finland. (Use Google Translator for English Version).
No Change in Vihtavuori Powder Distribution in USA
We discussed the potential Vihtavuori factory sale with Adam Braverman, U.S. representative for Nammo Lapua. Adam first noted that Nammo Lapua is NOT a potential buyer for the plant: “That’s not on the table.” But Adam emphasized that he forsees no changes to the current Vihtavuori distribution scheme: “Vihtavuori powder buyers should expect ‘business as usual’. We do not forsee any price or product availablity changes in the short term. There is plenty of powder inventory available, so we can fill all existing demands through the end of 2012.” While Eurenco looks for a new owner of the Vihtavuori plant, there will be no changes to the current system of distribution of Vihtavuori powders in the USA. Adam said: “There is plenty of powder in the European warehouses, and Nammo Lapua will continue to export Vihtavuori propellants to the USA importers (Hodgdon and Kaltron) who will distribute them to our retailers. We do not anticipate any supply shortages.”
April 19th, 2012
 Powder Valley just announced it has received 120 4-lb kegs of Vihtavuori N320 powder. This stuff has been hard to find lately, so Powder Valley suggests: “Get em quick. They won’t last long!”
We know why N320 powder is in high demand (most vendors are sold out right now). This is a truly outstanding propellant for the .45 ACP. It is very accurate, burns clean, and it meters well from progressive presses. This Editor has tried a dozen different powders for my .45 ACPs and N320 is my top choice for 180-200gr bullets. Nothing was more accurate, and N320 burned cleaner (with fewer sparks and unburnt particles flying back) than WW 231 (which is also very accurate).
July 21st, 2011
 If you read our 2011 Super Shoot Report by James Mock, you’ll see that Vihtavuori N133 powder is the overwhelming choice of top short-range benchrest shooters for loading their 6PPCs. Other Vihtavuori powders, such as N135, N150, and N550 are also very popular for other match and hunting cartridges.
If you currently use a Vihtavuori (VV) powder, or you plan to try a Vihtavuori powder in the near future, visit www.Lapua.com soon. Load info on Lapua’s Vihtavuori Reloading Data Page has been updated (or added) for the following calibers: .222 Remington, .223 Remington, .223 WSSM (new caliber data), .22-250 Remington, 6.5 Grendel, 6.5×47 Lapua, and 7.62x53R. In the updated tables, you’ll find VV powder recipes for a wide variety of bullets from Hornady, Lapua, Nosler, Sierra, Speer and other bullet-makers.
Though these recipes are fairly conservative, always start low and work up gradually when using a new powder for the first time. Likewise, you should back off your load if you change ANY component or if you have fitted a new barrel to your rifle.
Vihtavuori N100 Series
The N100 series powders are single-base powders used mainly in rifle calibers. There are ten N100 series powders with different burning rates and suitability from the .17 Remington up to the .458 Winchester Magnum and two special powders for .50 BMG.
N500 Series
The N500 series powders are impregnated extruded rifle powders with Nitroglycerol added as extra energy component. If higher loading densities and more energy are needed, N500 series powders are competent alternatives for the N100 series powders. N500 series High Energy powders are available in five different burning rates.
Story tip by EdLongrange. We welcome submissions from our readers.
February 1st, 2011
The new, 9th Edition of the Vihtavuori Reloading Guide has been released. The complete Reloading Guide can be downloaded for FREE as a PDF (Adobe Acrobat) file. The rifle reloading data has been expanded and revised with more powder selections for existing bullets. The load data for .243 Winchester has been revised extensively, and there is new caliber data for 6mm Remington, 6.5×55 Swedish and 6.5×55 SKAN. Load info for the .260 Remington, 6.5×55 Swedish, 30-06, and 45/70 has also been expanded in the 9th Edition of the VV Reloading Guide.
CLICK HERE for FREE Download of Vihtavuori 9th Ed. Reloading Guide PDF.
| The 9th Edition includes updated loading data for the following cartridge types:
Centerfire Handgun
.45 ACP
Centerfire Rifle
6mm Remington
.243 Winchester
.260 Remington
6.5×55 Swedish (Modern Action)
6.5×55 SKAN (Modern Action)
.30-06 Springfield
.45-70 Government |
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Error Correction: In the hard-copy, USA-printed version of the 9th Ed. Vihtavuori Reloading Guide, there is an error on page 25 concerning modern 6.5×55 loads. The data is correct in the PDF version of the Reloading Guide (linked above). CLICK HERE to download print version correction.
Story sourced by Edlongrange.
February 27th, 2010
Vihtavuori (VV) has started producing N570, a new high-energy, double-base powder suited for magnum cartridges. The burn rate of N570 is similar to Vihtavuori N170 and Hodgdon H870, making it somewhat faster than 24N21 or Retumbo. The new N570 has the slowest burn rate of the five powders in N500-series of high-energy propellants. N570 is an extruded tubular powder with a large kernel size (similar to VV 20N41 and 20N29) and a high bulk density.
The characteristics of this slow burning, high-energy powder are well-suited for large volume cases like the 6.5-284 Norma, 300 Winchester Magnum, 300 Remington Ultra Mag, 338 Lapua Magnum or the 30-378 Weatherby Magnum.
 Reloading Data for the new N570 Powder is available in the latest edition of the Vihtavuori Reloading Guide. (PDF).
CLICK HERE for Vihtavuori Reloading Guide (8th Ed.).
The new N570 was developed at the request of magnum cartridge reloaders. Vihtavuori told us: “Powder users have repeatedly asked for a powder suited to the needs of the largest magnum rifle cartridges. We have developed our new N570 High Energy powder to meet this special need in the market. N570 was developed to bring out the very best performance and velocity in large volume magnum rifle cartridges.”
VV Recommends Weighing N570 Charges
Because N570 has very large kernels, Vihtavuori advises that reloaders should always WEIGH N570 charges rather than rely on throws from powder measures: “We recommend that charges of this high-energy N570 powder be weighed, as measures do not always deliver consistent charges. This is especially true when the powder being used is of such a large kernel configuration. This may lead to a potential for either under- or over-charged cases, if the charges are thrown straight from the measure and not weighed.”
Vihtavuori Powders are imported in the USA by Hodgdon Powder Company and Kaltron Outdoors, and are marketed worldwide by Nammo Lapua, www.lapua.com.
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