What You Didn’t Know About Beretta
Beretta is probably the largest company producing firearms in the world. It’s output is approximately 1,500 produced weapons a day. Beretta covers just about the entire range of portable weapons: over-and-under, side-by-side rifles for hunting and competition in different calibers and various finish grades, semiautomatic pistols, carabines and semiautomatic rifles, express double rifles, (from.22 short to .45 automatic calibers) and many models of assault rifles. About 90% of Beretta’s production consists of various types of sporting firearms. More than 75% of its production being exported to more than one hundred countries.
Variety of products offered by Beretta is really wide. Besides many well designed, high quality firearms they are offering also clothing & accessories which is sold in the best gun shops in America and Europe. Beretta has been supplying firearms to the Armed Forces and Police Corps of the USA, Italy and many other countries for many years.
One of the biggest achievements of Beretta is definitely the fact that the American Armed Forces and State Police Forces started using Beretta 92 series in 1985. After that the French National Gendarmerie and Air Force also decided for a similar solution as their American colleagues.
The company added to its classical sporting guns production a completely new line of hunting apparel and accessories, clay target shooting and outdoor sports items in the early 1990s. Those innovations brought quite quickly a reputation due its high-tech content and elegance. In 1995 the first Beretta Gallery was inaugurated in New York. Other galleries were opened for instance in Paris, Milan, Buenos Aires or Dallas. In 2005 a new Beretta Gallery in London, UK was opened.
An important agreement was signed in 2002 for the supply of 45,000 pistols (92FS) to the Spanish Guardia Civil. In the same year about 40,000 pistols were supplied (92 series) to the National Turkish Police Force and also a new contract was signed for supplying of 18,744 pistols (92 series) to the US Air Force. In September 2007 another contract for supplying of 10,576 pistols (series 92) with the US Army and the US Air Force was signed. In January 2009 this Italian company achieved a really great success. Beretta won the largest US military handgun contract since World War II for supplying of 450,000 models 92FS pistols. In September 2012 the US Army announced that Beretta has been awarded a contract for up to 100,000 92FS pistols. Success of Beretta in the defense and law enforcement products is matched by its success in products for competitive shooting sports. In 1956 in Melbourne Beretta won its first Olympic Gold medal in clay pigeon shooting. After this great achievement from the Olympic games frequently followed many victories in major international competitions. A few examples from Beretta’s medal collection: the Olympic Games in Rome, Munich, Montreal, Moscow, Los Angeles, Seoul, Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney, Athens and Beijing. Since 1978 Beretta won also numerous medals at World Championships. By the way, their competition shotguns have won more International Competitions than any other brand.
Today is this unique company owned by Ugo Gussalli Beretta and his sons, Franco and Pietro. What makes Beretta Beretta if not the traditional father-to-son dynasty? However their dynasty was a little interrupted because Ugo married into the Beretta family and he adopted the last name Beretta. His sons are direct descendents through their mother's side of the family.
Beretta is known, first of all, for its wide range of firearms such as: single and double action revolvers, semi automatic pistols, hunting rifles, express rifles, assault rifles, side by side shotguns, over and under shotguns, submachine guns, lever and bolt-action rifles. Beretta Holding that is the parent company also owns Beretta USA, Stoeger, Benelli, Franchi, SAKO, Uberti, Tikka and the Burris Optics company.
Besides numerous high-quality firearms, the Beretta family produces a plenty of renowned Italian wines. About the year 1950 Giuseppe Beretta, Luigi Castelbarco and motorcycle designer Giuseppe Benelli started designing and manufacturing automobiles. Giuseppe Beretta was tasked with producing engines and square-tube frame chassis.
In 2015 the company celebrated the 100-year anniversary of the production of Beretta’s first semi-automatic pistol. Although the company’s trademark sidearm is 92FS, its semi-automatic roots rest with the Model 1915, that was adopted by Italian forces during the World War I.
Beretta HISTORY
In the early 1500s the Beretta products were chosen mainly by the highly discriminating Republic of Venice because of their quality. As the name Beretta became an equivalent of unique design, quality, materials and construction their products were known more and more even beyond the Italian borders. The tradition has carried over, uninterrupted, through fifteen generations of Berettas. Attention to detail, specific design and trade secrets to Jacopo Beretta were inherited from his father Bartolomeo. Then it passed on to his own son Giovannino, then to his grandson Giovan Antonio and so on.
The first documented transaction and probably one of the most important transaction of their beginning was a contract that is dated on October 3, 1526 for 185 arquebus barrels, for which the Republic of Venice paid 296 ducats to Bartolomeo Beretta. At the end of the 17th century, Beretta had become the second largest gun barrel maker in Gardone.
The seventeenth century was quite interesting for Pietro Antonio Beretta. Why? In spite of various difficulties arising due to the constant wars and foreign domination, he traveled throughout Italy, from town to town, so he could demonstrate the incomparable quality of his products and collect orders. In the eighteenth century Pietro Antonio’s son Giuseppe continued in her father’s footsteps and he was focused on creating new opportunities for the company. He decided to improve an international distribution what was a big plus for the company.
In the early 1900s Pietro modernized manufacturing methods, simplified construction and many patents for mechanisms helped to establish Beretta the first Italian firearms producer, as one of the most modern and progressive firearms producers in the world. His sons Giuseppe and Carlo continued with the modernization process and secured the company’s multinational character. The company has commercial and production activity in numerous European countries and the United States. Thanks to all those things the Beretta Holding is now one of the most successful companies worldwide and not only among firearm producers.
In the last few decades Ugo Beretta and his sons have made several changes in order to be a step before the other firearms producers. They opened a headquarter in the United States, by the way, their most important gun market.
The birthplace of Bartolomeo Beretta, who was the first among many Berettas, is the village of Gardone which is located on the banks of the Mella river, in the middle of Val Trompia, Italy.
Today, under the leadership of Ugo Gussalli Beretta and his sons Pietro and Franco, this company is one of the most modern, with the benefit of centuries of experience. This experience is combined with considerable investments in development of technology and growing product lines, what has prepared the Beretta Holding for demands of the global market place of the 21st century. The motto, quality without compromise, was established by Bartolomeo Beretta almost five centuries ago, and continues to be the cornerstone of the company also today. It’s crucial part of the Beretta’s success.
