Israel Weapon Industries (IWI), formerly the Magen division of the

Israel Military Industries , former_name = Israel Military Industries , type = State-owned enterprise , industry = Arms industry , fate = Acquired by Elbit Systems , successor = Elbit Systems Land , founded = , founder = , defunct = , hq_location_city = Ramat H ...

Ltd. (IMI), is an Israeli

firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

s manufacturer. It was founded in 1933. Formerly owned by the State of Israel, the Small Arms Division of IMI was privatized and renamed IWI in 2005. IWI is one of the world's most famous and bestselling military arms manufacturers. The Magen division rose to international prominence in the 1950s, as the creator of the Uzi, of which over 10 million would be produced, netting billions of dollars for the company. Subsequent well known military exports have included the Jericho 941 semi-automatic pistol, Negev light machine gun, Galil assault rifle, Tavor assault rifle, and the DAN .338 sniper rifle. IWI develops and manufactures guns used by armies and law enforcement agencies around the world.

Manufacturing

Ramat HaSharon

For many decades, IWI and the Magen division of Israeli Military Industries before it, has manufactured its weapons in

Ramat HaSharon Ramat HaSharon ( he, רָמַת הַשָּׁרוֹן, ''lit.'' ''Sharon Heights'', ar, رمات هشارون) is a city located on Israel's central coastal strip in the south of the Sharon region, bordering Tel Aviv to the south, Hod HaSharon to ...

. The factory has for many years been regarded an important component of the manufacturing sector in Ramat HaSharon. In 2017, IWI announced it is planning to construct a new factory in

Kiryat Gat Kiryat Gat, also spelled Qiryat Gat ( he, קִרְיַת גַּת), is a city in the Southern District of Israel. It lies south of Tel Aviv, north of Beersheba, and from Jerusalem. In it had a population of . The city hosts one of the most ...

, to which its manufacturing will re-locate when completed in 2020. The new Kiryat Gat factory, whose construction will cost NIS 180 million, will employ 560 full-time production workers and engineers on its assembly lines.

Overseas

IWI owns several factories overseas, for the manufacture of weapons for local markets. In India, IWI is establishing a joint-manufacturing center with

Punj Lloyd Punj Lloyd Limited is an Indian Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company providing services for energy, infrastructure and defense sectors. The company's operations are spread across the Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific, S ...

(with IWI owning 49% of the plant, and Punj Lloyd owning 51% of the plant), which will be India's first privately-owned small-arms manufacturing plant. The factory will manufacture firearms for the Indian army. IWI said in 2017, that it expects tenders with the Indian army in the region of $200–300 million. IWI also operates a manufacturing facility in Middletown, Pennsylvania USA. They locally manufacture the Zion Z-15 AR15, Tavor and Galil rifles, TS12 15+1 round semi-automatic shotgun as well as the Zion SBR, Jericho, Masada and Galil pistols, among others.

Products

Security training

IWI offers anti-terrorism training to Israeli citizens and contracts its services to outside countries requiring security training and anti-terror training to protect assets and high-ranking officials. IWI collaborates with the

Metropolitan College of New York Metropolitan College of New York (MCNY), formerly Audrey Cohen College, is a private college in New York City. MCNY is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and consists of three schools: The Audrey Cohen School for Huma ...

(MCNY) in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, which offers a classroom-based MA degree in Public Administration, Emergency Management and Homeland Security.

References

External links

* {{IMI IWI smallarms Firearm manufacturers of Israel Defense companies of Israel Israeli brands 1933 establishments in Mandatory Palestine