Herstal Group

Cycling about a half-dozen miles northeast of Liege brings me to Herstal, a gritty working class community. This is where privately-held Herstal Group, a manufacturer of guns (Browning, Winchester, FM Herstal) and sporting goods calls home. About a mile from the town center brings me to the gated entry of a very large factory of turn-of-the-century red brick buildings. Wow, this looks like a cool place. Unfortunately the guard gate is as far as I get as I'm told the place is closed for summer holidays. Jeez, I mailed my letter of introduction more than six weeks ago to CEO Philippe Tenneson. How difficult would it have been to send an e-mail letting me know they'd be closed? The company's website doesn't give out much information (financial or otherwise) but in 1998 the company had 435 million in revenues and 1,300 employees.