Beretta SpA has been selling small arms since 1526, and by the 1950s it was regarded as one of Italy’s most important
weapons factories.36 The company’s main factory in Brescia produces around 1,500 firearms a day, and an estimated
75 per cent of the company’s total production is for the civilian market (hunting and sporting). Beretta also
provides firearms to the armed forces of several countries. The company’s products have been produced under
licence in Indonesia (sub-machine guns), Brazil (sub-machine guns),Morocco (rifles), Egypt (pistols), US (pistols),
and Austria (machine guns) (Gander and Cutshaw, 2001b).