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| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| B3: TASA3,TASA4 | |
| Industry | Arms industry |
| Predecessor | Forjas Taurus |
| Founded | November 17, 1939; 86 years ago (1939-11-17) |
| Headquarters | Rio Grande do Sul,, Brazil |
Key people | Selesio Nuhs (CEO) |
| Products | Firearms |
Production output | 2,250,000+(2021)[1] |
| Revenue |  R$3.44 billion(2021)[1] |
| R$635,1 million(2021)[1] | |
| Total assets | R$2.09 billion(2021)[1] |
| Owner | CBC |
Number of employees | 3,286(2021)[1]
|
| Subsidiaries | Amadeo Rossi |
| Website | taurusarmas taurususa |
Taurus Armas S.A. (previously known asForjas Taurus S.A.) is a Brazilian manufacturingconglomerate based inSão Leopoldo,Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Founded in 1939 as atool and die forging plant,[2] the company now consists ofTaurus Armas, itsfirearm division, as well as other divisions focusing on metals manufacturing,plastics,body armor, helmets and civil construction.
In 2021, the U.S. accounted for 79.6% of total sales, a growth of 23.4%. In 2020, 41% of all the revolvers sold in the US were Taurus brand revolvers and, in 2021, it is estimated that this market share has reached 61%. Firearms and accessories accounted for 70.1% of total sales revenue in the U.S.[1]
Taurus produced its firstrevolver, the Model 38101SO, in 1941. Beginning in 1968, it exported revolvers to the U.S. market through a series of importers.
In 1971, the Bangor Punta Corporation, then the parent company ofSmith & Wesson, purchased 54 percent of Forjas Taurus, allowing the two firearms manufacturers to easily share information regarding design and manufacturing. In 1977, Taurus was purchased from Bangor Punta by its current owners, and its ties toSmith & Wesson were severed.
In 1980, after Italian arms manufacturerBeretta had completed its contracts to produce firearms for Brazil's military, Taurus purchased Beretta'sSão Paulo manufacturing plant along with the tooling, technical drawings, and work force necessary to produce several differentpistol designs.
In order to more effectively tap the U.S. market, the company created a subsidiary, Taurus International Manufacturing Incorporated, also known asTaurus USA, in 1982.[3]
In 1997, Forjas Taurus purchased the rights & equipment to manufactureRossi brand revolvers. They currently manufacture three.38 Special models and four.357 Magnum models under the Rossi name, manufactured inSão Leopoldo, Brazil. In 2012, Heritage Manufacturing was also purchased and its production later moved to Taurus' Miami, Florida plant.[4]
In 2019, Taurus USA moved their facilities fromMiami, Florida toBainbridge, Georgia.
The current product line includes steel-frame pistols, polymer-frame pistols,revolvers, and law enforcement weapons (submachine guns andrifles), the latter intended for the domestic Brazilian market. The company manufactures and sells its firearms for generally less than other manufacturers due to low labor costs, as well as having the facilities available to build virtually every part themselves.[5]
One writer said in 2010 that the "quality of Taurushandguns in the modern era is second to none".[6] In 2015, Taurus settled a lawsuit for $39 million and recalled nearly one million handguns produced between 1997 and 2013 due to "safety defects".[7][8]
Taurus was originally known for manufacturing revolvers similar in design to those offered bySmith & Wesson.[9] The company moved away from this realm by offering larger framed models such as the Raging Bull (.454 Casull) and Raging Hornet (.22 Hornet) revolvers as well as theJudge five-shot revolvers (.410 bore and.45 Colt).[10]
One of Taurus' most successful semiautomatic handguns has been its PT92, a model similar to Beretta'smodel 92 line, but with the addition of an ambidextrous frame safety, rather than the Beretta's slide-mounted safety.[6]
The most recent addition to the Taurus pistol lineup is a copy of theColt 1911.45 ACP pistol, the PT1911. This slightly redesigned and updated design offers many features.[11]
A voluntary recall was issued in 2015, for nine of Taurus' more popular models manufactured between 1997 and 2013. This is around one millionpistols and includes the following models:[13]
A class action settlement was also agreed to, which amounted to almost $39 million, due to the defective models.[14]