The German arms company Sig Sauer has announced it intends to close its arms factory in Eckernförde by the end of year. The company blamed "locational handicaps" and the German military and police preferring a "few other local producers".
A German court has handed several former and current managers from arms company Sig Sauer suspended prison sentences and heavy fines, following their involvement in illegal shipments of 38,000 pistols to Colombia that broke German export laws.
Sig Sauer is a brand name used by two sister companies based in Germany and the USA. Both companies specialise in the production of pistols and firearms, arming military and police forces around the world.
In 2009, Sig Sauer, a firearms company based in New Hampshire, USA, secured a $306 million deal with the Colombian National Police to provide nearly 100,00 hand guns.
