all4shooters.com received an invitation from SIG Sauer to the USA in June 2024. The occasion was the SIG Sauer NEXT event, at which the manufacturer's latest innovations in particular were to be presented. The focus was not only on short and long guns, but also on optics and ammunition, for example. We have already covered the large number of product presentations in our first article on the SIG Sauer visit.
That's why we'd like to give you some background information on the manufacturer. Because of course all4shooters.com did not miss out on one thing: when you're on site, you have to take a look behind the scenes. We have focussed on the SIG Sauer Academy in Epping, New Hampshire and the manufacturer's production facilities.
In focus: the SIG Sauer Academy in the USA
SIG Sauer operates its own legendary shooting academy on a 57-hectare site in Epping (NH). Shooters of all levels of experience can learn, expand or improve their shooting skills here. There are 16 shooting lanes with ranges from 15 to 1,000 yards (1 yard equals 0.91 metres) available for this purpose. Two of these are in air-conditioned halls with modern equipment for variable situation simulation, 25 yards for pistols and 50 yards for rifles. The range of services is now utilised by around 13,000 customers per year. These include law enforcement agencies for training in domestic deployment scenarios in the dedicated Tactical Training Area (TTA).
Since July 2022, the SIG Academy site has also been home to the SIG Experience Centre (SEC) in the entrance area. Visitors will find a 3,700 m2 flagship store with a comprehensive range of civilian products. A dedicated 25-yard shooting range is available for direct test firing without having to leave the building. There is also a public SIG museum with exhibits on the history of the company. Conference rooms with modern media technology round off the in-house facilities.
SIG Sauer USA, a steadily growing systems supplier. What is actually available from SIG Sauer and where is it all produced?
The wide range of handguns and rifles, optics, silencers, recreational firearms and ammunition already available during the last company visit has now been further supplemented by microelectronic thermal imaging sights and rifle attachments.
Since 2018, the workforce has more than doubled across all areas to around 3,500 employees. This is hardly surprising after the two major tender successes of the US armed forces: "Modular Handgun System" (MHS) in 2017 and "Next Generation Squad Weapon" (NGSW) in 2018.
For the latter, SIG Sauer has invested in an additional, state-of-the-art 19,000 m2 "Next-Gen Manufacturing Centre" in Rochester (NH) as the primary production facility for the new US military assault rifle XM7, as well as the XM250 light machine gun.
The investments are also visible at the main site in Newington, which carries out the central final assembly for all SIG Sauer firearms: progressive automation of production cells, expansion of the integrated indoor firing range with two additional 100-m firing galleries for test firing with digital documentation of rifles and duplication of assembly lines. The sum of all measures is expected to result in an output of up to 1.9 million guns per year (pistols and rifles).
The charismatic and very affable CEO Ron J. Cohen (CEO since 2005) knows how to authentically live the spirit and philosophy of SIG Sauer and strategically ensure entrepreneurial success: "There is no magic, just a lot of great people, that commit their life to SIG".
We would like to thank SIG Sauer for the invitation to the USA, the many excellent contacts and the open and professional information about all NEXT products for the USA and Europe in 2024.