Fegyver- és Gépgyártó Részvénytársaság ("Arms and Machine Manufacturing Company"), known as FÉG, is a Hungarian industrial conglomerate founded on 24 February 1891 in

Csepel Csepel (german: Tschepele) is the 21st district and a neighbourhood in Budapest, Hungary. Csepel officially became part of Budapest on 1 January 1950. Location Csepel is located at the northern end of Csepel Island in the Danube, and covers ...

(now part of

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

). The company came under the ownership of MPF Industry Group in 2010. It was an important arms manufacturing company before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Since the acquisition, FÉG is one of the biggest exporters of HVAC products to the international markets in the East-Central European heating device industry. Throughout its history it was renamed several times for various reasons; to Fémáru, Fegyver- és Gépgyár ("Metalware, Arms and Machine Factory") in 1935, to Lámpagyár ("Lamp Factory") in 1946, to Fegyver- és Gázkészülékgyár ("Arms and Gas Equipment Factory") in 1965. Decades later, in post-communist times it was renamed as FÉGARMY Fegyvergyártó Kft. ("FÉGARMY Arms Factory Ltd.").

1891-2004

On February 24, 1891, the legal predecessor of the Fegyver és Gépgyár (FÉG) was founded in Budapest. In the beginning the company produced rifles and pistols for the Austro-Hungarian Army and also exported its products for foreign armies. The company became an important arms manufacturer in the country, but it also produced gas equipment, water heaters, lamps and miscellaneous metalware. The production of

Diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

s started in 1899, when the Hungarian engineer Oszkár Epperlein (1844-1903) and Jenő Böszörményi (1872 - 1957) bought the patent rights of Diesel engines for the FÉG company from his collaborator

Rudolf Diesel Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel (, ; 18 March 1858 – 29 September 1913) was a German inventor and mechanical engineer who is famous for having invented the diesel engine, which burns diesel fuel; both are named after him. Early life and educat ...

. Through its history it always fulfilled a crucial role in supplying the Honvédség with small arms, this company also manufactured and exported a variety of semi-automatic pistols and rifles, including the P9M and the PJK-9HP models (copies of the famous Browning Hi-Power) and the

FÉG PA-63 The FÉG PA-63 is a semi-automatic pistol designed and manufactured by the Fegyver- és Gépgyár, FÉGARMY Arms Factory of Hungary. History Fegyver- és Gépgyár, FÉGARMY Arms Factory (FÉG) of Hungary started producing Walther PP/PPK clones i ...

(a Walther PP/PPK clone in

9×18mm Makarov The 9×18mm Makarov (designated 9mm Makarov by the C.I.P. and often called 9×18mm PM) is a Soviet pistol and submachine gun cartridge. During the latter half of the 20th century it was a standard military pistol cartridge of the Soviet Union an ...

), but currently only self-loading pistols (P9L, P9M, P9R, etc.) and break-barrel

air rifles An air gun or airgun is a gun that fires projectiles pneumatically with compressed air or other gases that are mechanically pressurized ''without'' involving any chemical reactions, in contrast to a firearm, which pressurizes gases ''chemic ...

(LG 427, LG 527). In Hungary, the company is also famous for its

starting pistol A starting pistol or starter pistol is a blank handgun that is fired to start track and field races, as well as competitive swimming races at some meets. Starter guns cannot fire real ammunition without first being extensively modified: Blank ...

s, for example the GRP-9, as well as manufacturing most of the propane water boilers and heaters found in Hungarian houses.

2004-present

After 2004 many of its traditional export markets were put under embargo and this caused the company to stop its activity connected to the defence industry. At the end of 2010, FÉG almost went bankrupt when HUF 1.7 billion of funds disappeared from the company. MPF Industry Group made an important investment to rescue the company and restarted the production. Since MPF Industry Group's reorganization, FÉG is one of the biggest East-Central European HVAC manufacturers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fegyver- es Gepgyar Manufacturing companies based in Budapest Privately held companies of Hungary Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning companies Manufacturing companies established in 1891 Hungarian brands Manufacturing companies of Austria-Hungary 1891 establishments in Hungary

1891-2004

2004-present

See also

References