Bersa Follows Trend, Begins American Manufacturing

Bersa USA’s announcement that it was exhibiting at the IWA Outdoor Classic Exhibition in Nuremberg, Germany, didn’t gain much attention. It does, however, signal yet another step forward for a company following a path other famed firearm firms have taken to find success—moving some or all manufacturing to the United States. Beretta, FN Herstal, SIG Sauer, Taurus, Glock, Walther, IWI, Armscor and others have invested the time and money to travel that sometimes-rocky road.

Much to the dismay of the brand’s avid fans, guns and parts from the Bersa’s Argentina factory vanished from domestic shelves after longtime importer Eagle Arms closed its doors in 2020—during the height of COVID-19. A year later, the firm, which was established in 1958, came to an agreement with Talon Distributing. Stateside fans finally saw parts and firearms begin to reappear.

There was more going on behind the scenes, though. In October 2022, Bersa USA announced it was opening 45,500-sq.-ft. factory in Kennesaw, Ga., the same city in which Talon Distributing and its sibling firm Talon Armament are headquartered. “All new models Bersa introduces, going forward, will be made in Kennesaw,” Bersa U.S. Sales & Marketing Director Rafael Del Valle said in the announcement.

By 2023, the company was producing 9 mm Luger-, 5.56 NATO- and .300 Blackout-chambered modern sporting rifles and pistols  in Georgia. The firm’s evolution to include AR and pistol caliber carbines is probably no coincidence, since Talon Armament offers AR-15s.

The firm branched out further, though. In 2024, the company introduced an M1911 variant—again, American-made. The line expanded further in the 12 months that followed, and the company a lot of USA-made hardware to show off in Europe.