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FN Browning Group
FN Browning Group

About the Fn Browning Group

*FN Browning Group is a shareholder of Miroku Corp.

The FN Browning Group is a global company that supplies world-leading brands:
FN, Browning, Winchester* and Noptel. Their products and services have always been renowned for their innovation and dependability and have an extraordinary legacy with the world’s most demanding customers.

The Group organises its activities into two main divisions:
(1) a Defence & Security Division and
(2) a Hunting & Sport Shooting Division.

The Group’s core objective is to drive the growth and prosperity of its leading brands by continuously supporting operational excellence and fostering a robust industrial and R&D ecosystem. Building on the strong heritage of innovation and reliability of its brands, the Group is committed to ensuring that new products and services set market-leading standards that anticipate the needs of its customers in terms of safety and performance and are a source of inspiration in their respective fields.

To achieve this, the Group establishes a vision, a strategic framework and organises the necessary resources throughout its subsidiaries, which retain operational autonomy based on their in-depth knowledge of their respective markets.

The Group creates a virtuous circle. It nurtures a corporate culture centred on its workers and based on tolerance, mutual respect, and open-mindedness. It encourages the exchange of best practices and synergies. It supports the continuous strengthening of a robust ecosystem that gives brands control over their value chain. It systematically invests a significant proportion of its turnover in R&D.

With a strong international footprint, the Group is firmly rooted in Belgium, where it has a structuring economic impact and is a driving force behind Industry 4.0. Its public shareholder allows for a long-term vision and stability. The Group conducts its activities in a responsible manner, in compliance with applicable local, national and international laws and regulations, and in accordance with its environmental, social and governance commitments.

Our legacy

The FN Browning Group has an exceptional history dating back to the 19th century, a history that carries with it a heritage of gunsmithing expertise built up over many centuries.

Thanks to the union between John M. Browning and FN Herstal, the Group has excelled over the decades by designing and manufacturing products that have always been at the forefront and a source of inspiration in their respective fields.

After 135 years of success, this story continues today

OUR MISSION, VISION AND GROUP DRIVERS

Our vision
To set market-leading standards that anticipate the needs of the most demanding defence institutions, law enforcement authorities and responsible firearm owners and hunters.

Our mission
To drive the growth and prosperity of our leading brands by continuously supporting operational excellence and fostering a robust industrial and R&D ecosystem.

Our drivers
Both the day-to-day actions and the strategy of the FN Browning Group are guided by three core drivers: to be a Visionary, to be a Facilitator of Excellence, and to be a Trusted Partner.

Visionary: we are forward-looking

Every strategy must be implemented, and it is the Group’s responsibility to provide all its workers with the tools they need to excel.

We strengthen the security and control of our value chains and support industrial
independence. We do this by developing and managing an ecosystem of companies,
industrial resources, research centres and reliable partners through well-planned internal and external growth.

We work closely together within the Group and support the operational autonomy of our businesses. We promote effective collaboration and encourage synergies to maximise the transfer of skills, economies of scale and exchange of best practice.

We strive to ensure that the Group’s workers enjoy a high quality of working life, enabling them to develop both professionally and personally and to deploy their talents to the full.

Facilitator of Excellence: we are results-driven

Every strategy must be implemented, and it is the Group’s responsibility to provide all its workers with the tools they need to excel.

We strengthen the security and control of our value chains and support industrial
independence. We do this by developing and managing an ecosystem of companies,
industrial resources, research centres and reliable partners through well-planned internal and external growth.

We work closely together within the Group and support the operational autonomy of our businesses. We promote effective collaboration and encourage synergies to maximise the transfer of skills, economies of scale and exchange of best practice.

We strive to ensure that the Group’s workers enjoy a high quality of working life, enabling them to develop both professionally and personally and to deploy their talents to the full.

Trusted Partner: we are a reliable in all our actions

Every strategy must be implemented, and it is the Group’s responsibility to provide all its workers with the tools they need to excel.

We strengthen the security and control of our value chains and support industrial
independence. We do this by developing and managing an ecosystem of companies,
industrial resources, research centres and reliable partners through well-planned internal and external growth.

We work closely together within the Group and support the operational autonomy of our businesses. We promote effective collaboration and encourage synergies to maximise the transfer of skills, economies of scale and exchange of best practice.

We strive to ensure that the Group’s workers enjoy a high quality of working life, enabling them to develop both professionally and personally and to deploy their talents to the full.

Our Governance

The FN Browning Group is owned by Wallonie Entreprendre, which in turn is owned by the Walloon Region, an entity of the Belgian federal state.

The Group is committed to continuous improvement of management structures and good governance practices, including internal audit, Group policies (Ethics Charter), due diligence (Code of Conduct), training and cybersecurity

Board of directors

Yves PRETE Chairman
Astrid PIERON Vice-Chair
Derrick-Philippe GOSSELIN Director
Emmanuel BOIS D’ENGHIEN Director
Fabienne BOZET Director
Marie-Kristine VANBOCKESTAL Director
Laurent BURTON Director
Olivier VANDERIJST Director
Joyce WIECZOREK Director
Julien COMPÈRE CEO

Remuneration & Nominations Committee

Yves PRETE Chairman
Olivier VANDERIJST Director
Fabienne BOZET Director
Joyce WIECZOREK Director
Julien COMPÈRE CEO

Audit & Risk Committee

Astrid PIERON Chair
Marie-Kristine VANBOCKESTAL Director
Fabienne BOZET Director

International Strategy Committee

Marie-Pierre DECHENE CEO Browning International
Laurent FORGET Chief Industrial & Technology Officer FN Browning Group
Michelle CANTONI CEO FN UK
France DELOBBE General Counsel & Secretary General FN Browning Group
Travis HALL CEO Browning North America
Mark CHERPES CEO FN America
Henry de HARENNE Head of Communications FN Browning Group
Thibaud MEZOSY Head of Strategy & Corporate Development FN Browning Group
Rui CUNHA CEO Browning Viana
Baudouin de HEPCÉE CFO FN Browning Group
Mathieu RYCKEWAERT Chief Sustainability & Governmental Affairs Officer FN Browning Group
Jean-Louis DAM Industrial Director Browning-Winchester Browning S.A.
Christophe ENGLEBERT Chief Human Resources Officer FN Browning Group
Arto SEPPONEN CEO Noptel
William ZOAETER Chief Information Officier FN Browning Group
Julien COMPÈRE CEO FN Browning Group, FN Herstal, Browning S.A.

OUR COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY

In 2023, the FN Browning Group has adopted a 10-year strategy detailing its environmental, social and governance objectives, as well as those relating to the products manufactured by its subsidiaries. By implementing specific action plans, this strategy combines economic and industrial growth objectives with high ambitions in terms of sustainability, good governance and brand reputation.

4 key areas, 43 action plans
The FN Browning Group’s strategy is based on four main areas of action, each of which is made up of priority themes. These eight priority themes (below) are accompanied by specific objectives and, for each of them, a distinct action plan.

Environment

Our ambition is to reduce our environmental footprint and contribute to the regeneration of ecosystems near the sites where we work and produce.

Priority theme:

  • Reducing our CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions

Social

Our ambition is to be a company at the cutting edge of social progress, enabling everyone to integrate and live through work.

Priority themes:

  • The health and safety of our teams
  • Diversity and Inclusion
  • A local, responsible and sustainable value chain

Governance

Our ambition is to carry out our mission with high standards of
governance and to encourage our value chain to do the same.

Priority theme:

  • Good governance, internal control and audit
  • Cybersecurity and data control

Products

Our ambition is to constantly improve the quality and reliability of our products
and services and to preserve the value of our brands.

Priority theme:

  • Quality and reliability of our products
  • Brand reputation
Each of the priority themes is accompanied by specific objectives. In total, the FN Browing Group and its entities have 43 specific objectives to achieve, i.e. 43 specific action plans to be implemented within a given timeframe

ARS MECHANICA FOUNDATION

Over the course of its 135-year history, the FN Browning Group has produced a wide range of military and civilian products, from machine guns and shotguns to turbojets and motorcycles. In 2008, the Group decided to create a not-for-profit foundation to preserve these witnesses to technological change and the societies in which they were designed.

The main objective of the Ars Mechanica Foundation is « to collect, preserve, manage, protect and promote a heritage consisting of objects or documents of historical, industrial, technological, commercial or cultural interest, produced, designed or associated with past, present or future companies of the Group, in order to preserve the testimony of the rich industrial past of Liège and, more generally, of the world, to which these companies have made a major contribution ».

Thanks to its legal status, the Foundation guarantees the continuity of all the assets of the FN Browning Group.