Continuing to expand its operations to keep up with demand, FN this week broke ground on a new facility that will bring 176 jobs to the local community.

FN's $33 million investment to construct a 100,000-square-foot facility in South Carolina's Pickens County, its second facility in the state, will expand the company’s manufacturing footprint to meet the demand for its products from the military, law enforcement, and consumer markets. FN first came to South Carolina in 1979, building a factory in Columbia to produce the MAG-58 machine gun under contract to the U.S. Army as the M240 GPMG. Four decades later, the company is doubling down. 

"This was a historic day for FN," said Mark Cherpes, President and CEO for FN America. "More than 40 years ago, FN opened operations in Columbia to fulfill a government contract for the U.S. Army. Since that day, FN’s business has grown tremendously, and we have forged unbreakable bonds within the state of South Carolina." 
 

Related: Select-Fire – FN Factory Tour to see how M240s, SCARs and 509s are Born

Besides the M240, the company has produced the M4A1, M16A4, M249 light machine gun, and FN SCAR under contract for the U.S. military, as well as its FN 509 striker-fired pistol line used by U.S. law enforcement agencies like the Los Angeles Police Department. Going past mil/LE success, FN has had hit after hit on the consumer market and this year introduced the Reflex line of micro 9 pistols and the sub-$999 Guardian FN-15, the most affordable AR the company has ever produced. 

According to the latest data from federal regulators, FN produced 132,205 handguns and 37,202 rifles in South Carolina in 2021.