1853–1863

The origins of the SIG Sauer company lie in the company named Schweizerische Waggonfabrik ("Swiss Wagon Factory"), which was founded in 1853 by Friedrich Peyer im Hof (1817–1900), Heinrich Moser (1805–1874) and Johann Conrad Neher (1818–1877).^[5][6]

The group pooled their engineering talents and created the Prelaz-Burnand rifle, known as the "Prélaz-Burnand 1859"^[7] or "Prelaz-Burnand 1860"^[8] rifle. The invention of this rifle is credited to gunsmith Jean-Louis Joseph Prélaz^[7][8] and army officer Edouard Burnand.^[7][8] The rifle was submitted to an 1860 competition by Switzerland's Federal Ministry of Defence. It won and in 1864^[9] the company was awarded a contract to produce 30,000^[9][8] Prelaz-Burnand rifles, adopted as the M1863.^[7][8]

1864–1975

Upon receiving the 1864^[9] government contract to produce rifles, the company name was changed to Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (SIG, German for "Swiss Industrial Company"), known as Société Industrielle Suisse in French-speaking regions of Switzerland,^[5] reflecting the new emphasis on their production.^[5]

The SIG P210 pistol was developed in 1947 based on the French Modèle 1935 pistol (the Petter-Browning design was licensed). It was adopted by the Swiss military in 1949 as the "Pistole 49". This single-action semi-automatic P210 brought SIG much acclaim, due to the precision manufacturing processes employed in its manufacture and its resultant accuracy and reliability. The P210 frame design incorporates external rails that fit closely with the slide, thus eliminating play in the mechanism during firing. The P210 was noted for its extreme accuracy. The Petter-Browning patent was a refinement of the Browning Hi-Power (P35), which was John Moses Browning's last design which was created for the French 1935 pistol, but not adopted.

Swiss law limits the ability of Swiss companies to export firearms.^[10] Swiss companies which wish to do this have to do so by using a foreign partner. So in the 1970s SIG purchased both Hämmerli^[11] and J. P. Sauer and Sohn, which resulted in the formation of SIG Sauer.

1976–1984

SIG Sauer's line of handguns began in 1975 with the SIG Sauer SIG P220.^[12] It was initially developed by SIG and produced and distributed by J.P. Sauer & Sohn, but in 1976 SIG bought J.P. Sauer & Sohn and the resultant company was called SIG Sauer GmbH, based in Germany.

Prior to World War II, Sauer had been primarily a maker of shotguns and hunting rifles. During the war, they produced a handgun, the Sauer 38H, but afterward had withdrawn from this market. With SIG as their partner/owner, Sauer returned to the business of manufacturing handguns. Their Sauer 38H had been produced in competition with other German makers such as Mauser and Walther at a time when new designs began to feature a double/single-action trigger. This double-action trigger mechanism, combined with advanced safety features including the hammer-lowering decocking lever, was incorporated by Sauer into the new P220 design.^[13] This new P220 design was derived from the Petter-Browning design and was created in response to a Swiss military and police requirement for a handgun to replace the P210. This new P220 design should properly be called the SIG Sauer System, which was, in fact, the labeling on one of the first SIG Sauer handguns, a modified SIG Sauer P220 design produced for the Browning Arms company in 1977. On the right side of the slide are the words "SIG Sauer System". This was the first SIG Sauer P220 type sold in the US.^[12]

1985–1999

A SIG Sauer P226 semi-automatic pistol, with magazine removed

SIG Sauer P226 Elite Platinum 9mm

SIG Sauer 1911 Super Target .45 ACP

In January 1985, SIG established a subsidiary, SIGARMS, Inc, in Tyson's Corner, Virginia, to import the P220 and P230 models into the United States. Two years later the firm moved to a larger facility in Herndon, Virginia, and introduced models P225, P226 and P228.^[14] SIGARMS moved to Exeter, New Hampshire, in 1990 where production facilities had been established and production began on the P229 in 1992.^[14]

2000–2007

SIG's firearms subsidiaries in Germany and the United States and its firearms subdivision in Switzerland were all sold to Michael Lüke and Thomas Ortmeier's L&O Holding in October 2000.^[15][16] Its firearms subdivision in Switzerland became a subsidiary in its own right, SAN Swiss Arms AG, more commonly known as Swiss Arms,^[17] although its products still used the SIG Sauer brand.

In 2004, according to CEO Ron Cohen, the company was near failure with just 130 employees. Cohen decided to add AR-15 style rifles to the company's product catalog, which he credits with saving the company.^[18]

In 2007, SIGARMS changed its name to SIG Sauer, Inc.,^[19] sometimes called SIG Sauer USA. All new SIG Sauer Inc offerings were designed in the United States. By 2016, it had over 1,000 employees and was selling more than 43,000 firearms a year.^[18]

2008–2018

In 2014 news reports first emerged reporting arms sales by SIG to Colombia which were in contravention of German weapons trafficking laws. The reporting was corroborated by whistleblowers inside the company including in New Hampshire. It was alleged that SIG had filed false export paperwork with the German government for nearly 38,000 pistols. SIG claimed that the end user of the weapons was in the US when in fact they were in Colombia, a location which weapons exports were banned by German law.^[20][21]

In 2015, SIG Sauer expanded to include suppressors, optics, ammo and airguns, aiming to provide a greater range of firearm and firearm safety equipment and accessories.^[5] Also in 2015 human rights campaigners in Germany brought a lawsuit against SIG for allegedly not doing enough to prevent the use of their weapons by cartel groups in Mexico.^[22]

SIG Sauer P320

The US military has produced a requirement for a new handgun to replace the current M9 model (Beretta 92FS). In February 2016, bids were submitted by 12 companies to compete for this contract which was expected to result in purchases of more than 500,000 pieces. On 1 July 2016, SIG Sauer was reported to be one of three remaining competitors who were in consideration for this contract.^[23] On 19 January 2017, SIG Sauer was awarded the contract for the P320.^[24]

In a press event on 25 July 2018, SIG Sauer announced that its airgun division was renamed to SIG Air,^[25] and introduced its Precision Line air rifles, starting with the ASP20 break-barrel gas piston air rifle.^[26]

On 5 November 2018, the United States Coast Guard, which has long used the .40 caliber SIG P229 as its duty sidearm, announced that it will acquire the SIG Air ProForce P229 airsoft pistol (which was then produced under brand licensing by French airsoft manufacturer CyberGun) as its new training pistol to give cadets and guardsmen the ability to practice gun handling, conduct target practice in various environments, and train in realistic force-on-force scenarios.^[27][28] SIG Air announced that "we are rapidly expanding the SIG AIR business, and it is important to us to assume full control to ensure all SIG Air products are of the highest quality", and they will no longer be licensing the "SIG" brand or trademarks for sale by commercial airsoft manufacturers.^[29]

In April 2018 prosecutors in Kiel brought criminal charges against SIG and the executives who had been involved in the illegal arms trafficking to Colombia. Chief Executive Ron Cohen was arrested at Frankfurt Airport.^[20]

2019–2022

In April 2019 Cohen and two other executives were convicted of breaking export laws. Cohen was given an 18-month suspended sentence and fined $675,000. The German division of SIG was fined $12 million by the court.^[30]

In late 2019, Swiss Arms was renamed SIG Sauer AG.^[31]

On 4 June 2020, SIG Sauer GmbH announced it intended to close its factory at Eckernförde by year's end, resulting in losses of about 125 jobs as well as plans to fulfill purchase orders. It blamed "locational handicaps" hindering its sales, claiming "a few other local producers" were preferred in government purchases for the German police forces and the Bundeswehr. According to SIG Sauer GmbH CEO Tim Castagne, "due to its international orientation, SIG Sauer is systematically excluded from tenders [in Germany]."^[32]

SIG Experience Center in Epping, New Hampshire

On 19 April 2022, the US Army, following a 27-month evaluation process, announced it had awarded SIG Sauer a contract for two Next Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW) variations, the XM7 and XM250 automatic rifle, as well as for the 6.8 common cartridge ammunition used by both rifles. The initial value of the award was $20.4 million for the delivery of the weapons, ammunition, and accessories. The XM7 and XM250 are planned to replace the M4 carbine and M249 light machine gun, respectively.^[33]

In July 2022, the company opened the SIG Experience Center in Epping, co-located with the SIG Sauer Academy.^[34] The Experience Center includes a retail store, indoor shooting range, company museum, conference center, and corporate offices.^[35]

2023

In 2023, the most popular handgun for US law enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, the P-320, came under fire for unintentional discharge of the firearm. The semi-automatic pistol is used internationally, and the 80+ cases were limited to North America. The company said the gun is safe, and the cases were due to improper handling and a lack of gun safety standards. According to gun safety officials, the user can avoid such discharge by "keeping the finger outside the trigger guard until the decision is made to shoot".^[36][37][38]

SIG Sauer brand

SIG Air brand