Smith & Wesson

Smith & Wesson (S&W) is an American manufacturer of firearms, ammunition and restraints. The corporate headquarters are in Springfield, Massachusetts. Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson founded the the Company in Norwich, Connecticut in 1852 to develop the Volcanic rifle.

In 2006 the Company refocused its marketing on big box retailers, according to Smith & Wesson CEO Mike Golden in a 2008 conference call with investors. Smith & Wesson Holding announced in December 2014 that it was paying $130.5 million for Battenfeld Technologies, a Columbia, Missouri-based designer and distributor of hunting and shooting accessories. In August 2016 the company bought Crimson Trace, a laser-sight manufacturer and Taylor Brands, a tool and knife maker. In November of that same year, the company bought UST Brands, a survival equipment maker. On November 7, 2016, they announced that it would be changing the name of its holding company to American Outdoor Brands Corporation.