In the Ramingtal valley near Steyr, fox and hare say goodnight to each other. In the middle of this rural idyll, the Steyr Arms an Austrian flagship company produces hunting, sporting and military weapons for the global market.
All stories have a beginning somewhere, and this one starts in 1864, on April 16, 1864 to be precise. On this day, a Saturday by the way, the young entrepreneur Josef Werndl and his brother founded “Josef und Franz Werndl & Company, Waffenfabrik und Sägemühle in Oberletten” in a small village near Steyr. Like all young entrepreneurs, the two Werndls initially faced many problems: They had to set up development and production in parallel, establish internal processes, recruit and train new employees and, above all, secure financing. Just three years after the company was founded, however, the biggest worries seem to be a thing of the past: A major order from the Austrian army flutters through the door. The Imperial and Royal Armed Forces made the Werndl-Holub breech-loader their standard rifle, thus establishing a tradition that continues to this day – under a different company name and under different political conditions.
Gerhard Unterganschnigg smiles. Born in Zell am See, the entrepreneur has been the owner since 2007 and was also Managing Director of the Upper Austrian arms manufacturer Steyr Arms for several years until handing over to Oliver Bauer on December 1, 2023, which emerged from the arms company founded by the Werndl brothers almost 160 years ago. In the meantime, the company also traded as Österreichische Waffenfabriks-Gesellschaft (ÖWG) and Steyrer Werke AG. In 1934, the company merged with Austro-Daimler-Puchwerke AG to form Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG, with production also including bicycles, cars, trucks and aircraft engines. In 1989, the mega-operation comes to an end, Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG is dissolved and the individual divisions go their separate ways. Vehicle production and other parts are absorbed by other groups, weapons production is spun off as Steyr Mannlicher AG. In 2004, the company moves to its current location in Ramingtal, where Gerhard Unterganschnigg takes us on a tour of production.
“There are not many companies in the world that can look back on such a long – and eventful – history and tradition as we can,” he says. Unterganschnigg stops here and there at machines, explains work processes and production steps. He talks about the importance of high-quality raw materials (“we use the same steel that is used in the barrel of the Leopard 2 A7 tank”) and the pressure that the barrel and housing have to withstand when fired (“up to 5,000 bar!”). He reports on the innovative monobloc production of hunting rifles established at Steyr in 2018, in which the receiver is integrated into the barrel. He also talks about honed and pre-turned barrels, micrographic structures, new calibers, the advantages and disadvantages of different barrel lengths and the fact that none of this is millimeter work. “We are much more precise,” says Unterganschnigg. “Only if we work with high precision can the end product meet the highest standards.”
“There are not many companies in the world that can look back on such a long – and eventful – history and tradition as we can.
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Steyr Arms-Eigentümer Gerhard Unterganschnigg
The end products are sports and hunting rifles such as the Breeze and carbon models. But they are also weapons for the authorities and armed forces, such as sniper rifles, the A2 MF pistol, the GL-40 grenade launcher system and, above all, the assault rifles (AUG) used by many police and armed forces around the world. 1977 with the German Armed Forces as the Assault Rifle 77 (StG 77), anyone who has been in the armed forces in recent decades knows at least one product “made in Ramingtal”. And to ensure that this remains the case in the future, the weapons are currently being thoroughly modernized. In cooperation with the Austrian Armed Forces Steyr Arms is giving up to 16,000 old StG 77s new barrel grips, case ejectors, risers and Picatinny rails as well as other updates. The first modernized assault rifles were handed over in February 2023. “In combination with its proven features, the Austrian Armed Forces once again have one of the best assault rifles in the world,” says Unterganschnigg.
The tradition of the AUG in the army is thus being extended, and it was the tradition of the company that brought Unterganschnigg to Ramingtal in the mid-noughties and probably saved Steyr from going under at the time. In 2007, our story almost came to an early end: There was not much left of the former glory of the armaments manufacturer. The machinery was outdated and thinned out, the order situation was manageable, the number of employees was only in double figures and turnover was just seven million euros. Steyr Mannlicher was on the ropes. The company was up for sale. But who would take on the takeover? There was a yawning void on the list of potential buyers. Almost, because at least Gerhard Unterganschnigg’s name was on it. Together with a business partner, he – the former investment banker and company restructurer, who until then had nothing to do with the production of weapons – seized the opportunity and got on board. “It was an affair of the heart for me,” says Unterganschnigg during a visit to Militär Aktuell. https://militaeraktuell.at/wanted-neuer-advanced-jet-trainer-gesucht/ It may sound strange when the owner of a weapons manufacturer uses such a phrase. But in an interview with Der Standard in 2019, Unterganschnigg explained his motives: “Steyr Mannlicher is the icon among hunting rifles. When the company was up for sale, for me as a hunter it was a bit like if you were a Ferrari fan and suddenly had the opportunity to buy a Ferrari.” Unterganschnigg strikes – and does what he does best: He refurbishes. Step by step, he modernizes the machinery, strengthens sales, brings employees into the company, pushes research and development in order to offer more products that are not only known for their traditional name, but also for quality and reliability. “That is our brand promise. We will never sell on price – only on quality.”
“We will never sell on price – only on quality.”
Steyr Arms-Eigentümer Gerhard Unterganschnigg
Today, the number of employees is “well over 200”, revenues have climbed to around 50 million euros a year – and theoretically, even more could be possible, as Unterganschnigg reports. “Unfortunately, the restrictive export regulations often put a spanner in the works. Sometimes it is easy to understand when export licenses are refused,” says Unterganschnigg, “but in many cases this is not the case, and the justification is often flimsy.” In response to this, Steyr has been pushing its US site for years, and as a consequence of internationalization, Steyr Mannlicher was renamed Steyr Arms in 2019.
Back to the Werndl-Holub breech-loader and the beginning of our story: The rifle locked the 11-millimeter centerfire cartridge by means of a rotating cylinder. It was produced in two different cartridge lengths, as an infantry rifle, carbine and Extra-Corps rifle and, after the change to the more powerful M. 77 cartridge, was in use until the end of the First World War. First World War in service until the end of the First World War. From 1867 to 1918, the breech-loading rifle was thus a permanent fixture in the Imperial and Royal Army for a total of 51 years – although the StG 77 has also been in service with the Austrian Armed Forces for almost five decades. To Gerhard Unterganschnigg’s delight, the ongoing modernization will probably add a few more. Especially as further modernization steps for the Bundesheer icon are already being planned in the background – but that’s another story.
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