Proudly Pinoy

Just this week, I found myself again at the Defense and Sporting Arms Show at the SM Megamall, ogling the latest that the gun world has to offer, marveling at the technology that keeps improving in this field. As an aficionado, one can literally get lost in another world while visiting the numerous booths of manufacturers and importers, trying out the “big toys” that sportsmen fantasize about. It was also a good time to enjoy coffee over a good, pleasant chat with the man who helms the undisputed leader in firearms and ammunitions in the country, Mr. Bolo Tuason, chairman of Armscor.

Armscor’s parent company, Squires Bingham Co. Inc., is celebrating its 70th year, seven decades of excellence in the country. It was President Ramon Magsaysay who granted the company its first license to manufacture firearms and ammunition in the Philippines in 1952, and the company’s sheer staying power tells much about the integrity of the company and the men behind it, Bolo and Severo. These gentlemen have erased the negative reputation of the Philippines as a notorious “paltik” maker of dubious though still lethal firearms that used to proliferate in the country. Now, who wants to buy those unreliable “paltiks” when the Philippines now proudly manufactures excellent world-caliber pistols that are affordable and readily available? A word of advice to would-be gun purchasers: Armscor shares in the advocacy of safe and responsible (licensed) gun ownership and does not tolerate any shenanigans. They abhor the proliferation of unlicensed firearms in the country and the abuse/improper use of firearms for crime or terrorism.

The founder himself, Don Celso S. Tuason, purchased a store in 1941, originally a print shop founded in 1905 by two Britons, Roy Squires and William Bingham. We’re talking ancient history, yes, but I continue to be in awe of how this company has evolved over seven decades to be the Squires Bingham Group of Companies when Don Celso decided to pursue manufacturing. Now with Armscor established almost 60 years ago as its flagship, the company provides quality small arms and ammunition in more than 60 countries. It manufactures for the world-renowned Fratelli Tanfoglio of Italy, and both companies are now set to transfer the manufacturing of Double/Single Action pistol technology to the Philippines. One of the most prominent users of Tanfoglio pistols is French sportsman Eric Grauffel, five-time International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) champion. His gun of choice is Tanfoglio, and Eric has been using Armscor ammunition since 1999 when he won his first major international shooting competition held in Cebu City. To this day, he has not shifted from his position that Armscor ammunition is among the world’s best, and in the 2011 IPSC World Shoot XVI held in Rhodes, Greece, Eric once again displayed his champion form, banking on his strategic partnership with Tanfoglio and Armscor for his precision shooting.

Apart from Tanfoglio, Armscor directly imports product lines from other established foreign manufacturers: STI International of USA, Caracal of the United Arab Emirates, Sarzilmas of Turkey, Crossman of USA, IMI Defense/Fab Defense of Israel, and Amadini Ghost holsters of Italy among others. You can check out the various brands available at the Armscor Shooting Center, the company’s distributor of Armscor products in the country and its importing arm. A visit to this one-stop shop is like a setting foot in a miniature gun show where they have everything a shooter needs.

Armscor is now the largest privately-owned arms and ammunition manufacturer in Southeast Asia. Not just in the Philippines, mind you, where it is undoubtedly the local leader, but in the whole of the Asean, and the company has set out to conquer newer and bigger frontiers that the bigger boys have invaded and claimed much, much earlier. The Armscor Precision International (API) in Nevada, USA markets Armscor products which include the Rock Island Armory brand in the United States under Scott Tuason, son of Severo. Bolo’s son Martin has likewise entered the American market with Advanced Tactical Firearms (ATF), a dealer of API which services the retail and shooting sport industry. ATF has its own ammunition loading plant in Montana, USA called Armscor Cartridge Inc.

Locally, Armscor has set up branches in Marikina, Makati, Cebu and Davao, but plans are afoot for even more branches in the country. 

Interestingly, Bolo himself is not a shooter, preferring to be a manufacturer and proud of Armscor’s technology. As a 100-percent Filipino-owned corporation, we decided to drop in on Armscor’s ISO-Certified plant in a seven-hectare area in Marikina which employs about 1,000 personnel and we were amazed at the rigid manufacturing standards, the highly-skilled workers who were wearing protective gear at all times, the discipline and strict attention to the minutest details in manufacturing, from the building of the different molds to the last coating done on the firearms. It was a rigorous and painstaking process that has passed global standards and has made the company a much sought-after exporter and importer of firearms and ammunitions. It has prided itself as the official match ammunition of international competitions and supports local and international shows like the bi-annual Defense and Sporting Arms show in the Philippines, the Shot Show in the US, the IWA in Germany and several other major defense shows around the globe. In the recent IPSC World Shoot in Greece, Armscor supported the Philippine Team that competed there.

What gives Armscor its superb staying power? Its superior skills and technology, no doubt, in the manufacturing field, and its impeccable integrity and professionalism as a reliable importer, partnering with major foreign manufacturers. But the company has gone beyond the call of business, taking its social responsibilities seriously. Partnering with the PNP and Zonta Club of Makati-Paseo de Roxas, they have established the search for the Ten Outstanding Police Women of the Philippines, and with Manila Jaycees the search for Ten Outstanding Policemen of the Philippines and LEAD PNP, a Mentor award search for the Top Chief of Police in the Philippines. They likewise established the AFP Arsenal (Armscor) Battalion, organizing medical/ dental missions and disaster relief operations. They even have a modest orphanage where 20 young girls reside right in their premises, the Bigay Awa at Tanglaw sa mga Angel Foundation in their Armscor Shooting Range, the largest commercial outdoor firing range in Metro Manila. It is here where they conduct trainings and promote safe and responsible handling of firearms as well as marksmanship and proficiency. This shooting range is helmed by Ms. Gina Angangco.

Abiding by their tagline of “bringing the best of the Philippines to the world and bringing the best of the world to the Philippines”, I am awed by the staying power of this company which has withstood the test of time, untainted and untouched by politics, solely standing on its upright ethics and superb manufacturing skills and bringing pride to this country for the excellent home-grown technology in its products. This 70-year old Filipino company is here to stay.

Mabuhay!!! Be proud to be a Filipino.

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