The Beretta Company

Pietro Beretta Arms Manufacturing Company is an Italian company and producer of field and competition firearms and optics. The company is controlled by the Beretta family and has been handed down through that family for almost 500 years.

The Beretta manufacturing plant produces approximately 1,500 firearms a day. Firearms produced by Beretta range from .22 caliber pistols to assault rifles and shotguns. Along with its firearms, Beretta also produces a line of clothing and accessories aimed at tactical weapon users and gun enthusiasts.

Beretta has become a common name brand amongst law enforcement and military professionals because so many agencies in the United States and abroad issue Beretta pistols to their members. The Beretta 92 series pistol has been adopted as the service pistol for the U.S. military, French Army, French Air Force, the Spanish Civil Guard, and the Turkish Police force. The Canadian Borders Service Agency signed a contract with Beretta in 2007 to supply their members with the Beretta Px4 Storm pistol.

Beretta has also made a name for itself in the competitive shooting realm. Beretta's first Olympic Gold medal win was for clay pigeon shooting in 1956. Since then, Olympic medals have also been won in 1960, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008. On its official website, Beretta claims that their competition shotguns have won more Olympic Games, World Championships, and International Competitions than any other shotgun.

With only 2,603 employees working for the company, Beretta manages to earn $655 million (USD) annually. Since the turn of the 20th century, Beretta's manufacturing plants have grown in size from 10,000 square meters to over 76,000.

Beretta USA is a subsidiary of the Italian based company and was founded in 1977. Beretta USA employees 300 personnel and encompasses a production plant in Maryland, a warehouse in Virginia, a retail store in New York and a retail store in Texas.

Beretta has proved itself time and time again to be a dependable, accurate, and affordable solution for public safety personnel, competitive shooters, and gun enthusiasts alike. One feature which led the U.S. military to adopt the 92 series pistol as the standard issue side arm for its members was the thumb safety lever, which is not supposed to allow the weapon to fire when properly engaged. The thumb safety lever is reliable and offers a highly visible way to determine the status of the weapons ability to fire. When the thumb safety lever is disengaged and the weapon is ready to fire, a red dot is visible adjacent to the hammer.

Sources:

Company: Fabbrica D'Armi Pietro Beretta S.p.A. Beretta.