Visit to the arms manufacturer Bergara in Spain - Basque Country - Part 1

BERGARA: Our visit to the arms manufacturer in Spain - Basque Country - Part 1

One innovative, modern and successful manufacturer of sporting and hunting firearms is always exciting to visit - especially the Weapon manufacturing to see and observe how a rifle is made from A to Z.

As on the IWA in Nuremberg we were delighted to accept the invitation from Bergara's Head of Marketing Stefanie Wedel - to the Basque country in the town of Bergara - to visit the company.

Now that more and more of our customers are equipping their Bergara hunting rifles with DDoptics riflescopes. and we only receive very good feedback on the Bergara weapons, it was all the more exciting to behind the scenes of the company and its weapons production and - above all - to observe the barrel production in the button-pulling process. In addition, of course, there is the trip to a special part of Spain - the Basque Country - which most of us perhaps only know from Conflict reports with the ETA know.

On Bilbao Airport Once we arrived, we immediately took the hire car and drove for an hour to the Place Bergara to the Company Bergarawhere we were warmly welcomed by Stefanie. After passing through the security check, we were taken straight to the visitors' room.

Presentation of Bergara's corporate culture and corporate structures

Behind the The Bergara brand is owned by Dikar S.Coop. Dikar offers solutions for those who love outdoor activities and owns several brands in these segments. The focus is on proximity to the Market, market development, creativity , Innovation and personnel development.

Which brands belong to Dikar?

• BERGARA - Development and Production of sporting and hunting weapons
• COLUMBUS - Development of Outdoor products such as sleeping bags, rucksacks, tents, etc.
• CVA - one Leading brand in the US market for the development and production of Muzzle-loading weapons
• POWERBELT - Precision bullets for muzzle-loading weapons
• QUAKE - Speciality products for hunting and outdoor

Who owns the Dikar company - this is where it gets exciting?

Stefanie explained to us that the DIKAR company is a kind of co-operative - one that operates in the Basque Country, quite common corporate structure. Each employee receives a positive probationary period of 5 years the possibility, Cooperative member of the company and receives 1 voting right. Each employee - including the management - receives 1 Voting right. At the same time, an account is opened for the co-operative member. The Most of the profits are used for development invested - the rest distributed to the accounts.

A Interesting model for pension provision - but above all for the Employee motivation. As a co-owner, you probably stand behind your company in a completely different way than a pure employee with a payday. Perhaps that is one of the Secret to the success of the Bergara brand in a highly competitive market. Also interesting - the highest monthly income is about 4x as high as the lowest income.

Where are the markets in Bergara?

The main market is currently the USA. However, with the great success of the Hunting rifle series B14 and the B13 Take Down the European market (including Austria and Germany) is becoming increasingly interesting. The Demand and quantities delivered within the EU speak a clear language.

In the Sporting arms range or in hunting shooting, the B14 BMP or the B14 HMR presented this year at the IWA and at the Shot Show. The market launch is imminent. The response to the two sporting rifles has been very positive.