Sam Cummings, owner of International Armament Corporation, also called Interarmco (later Interarms) and all of its international subsidiaries,* turned a single rifle at a young age into an arms importer and exporter business which did billions of dollars in business. Cummings himself was a billionaire, back when it was a really big deal to be a millionaire.
To my knowledge, the only firearms Interarms was ever alleged to have manufactured were those made under license from Walther at the Ranger manufacturing facility in Gadsden, Alabama. I believe the PPK, the PPK/S and the TPH were made, if memory serves.
Interarms was determined, however, by the federal government, to NOT be the manufacturer of those weapons for the purpose of determining who paid the federal excise tax.**
*Interarmco/Interarms subsidiaries included: Interarms (North American Group); International Armament Corp. (Alexandria, VA); Interarms Manufacturing Division (Midland, VA); Hunters Lodge Division (Alexandria, VA); Oy Interarms AB (Helsinki, Finland); Interarms (Asia) Ltd. (Singapore); Interarms (Argentina) Ltd. (Buenos Aires); Interarms Int'l Ltd. (Nassau, Bahamas); Ferguson Arms Co. (Manchester, England); Interarms Industries S.A. (Panama); Interarms U.K. Ltd (Interarms House), Manchester, England; Whitworth Rifle Co. (U.K.); Farquharson Rifle Co. (U.K.); all of which were affiliated with Cummings International Associates (Monaco).
**From the Court case of INTERNATIONAL ARMAMENT CORP. v. UNITED STATES, 598 F.Supp. 1028 (1984):
"This case presents the issue of whether International Armament Corporation ("Interarms") is a "manufacturer" for purposes of the ten percent federal excise tax imposed on the sale by the "manufacturer, producer, or importer of ... [p]istols [or] [r]evolvers" pursuant to section 4181 of the Internal Revenue Code (I.R.C. § 4181 (1980)). Interarms brings this tax refund action to recover $3,429.10 in excise taxes paid for the quarter ending June 30, 1980.
. . . .
On November 20, 1978, Interarms entered into a contract with the Etowah Manufacturing Company ("Etowah"), whereby Etowah agreed to manufacture and sell, and Interarms agreed to buy, over a five and one-half year period, 250,000 Walther PPK/S semiautomatic pistols (the "Agreement"). The Agreement provided for the manufacture of the following calibers: .380 ACP, .32 ACP, and .22 LR (long rifle). The only weapon that was actually manufactured was a .380 caliber. Etowah later became known as Mid-South Industries, Inc. ("MSI"), an Alabama corporation formed in 1964.
MSI assigned its obligations under the Agreement to Ranger Manufacturing Company ("Ranger"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of MSI. MSI and its subsidiaries employ approximately 1,200 persons and have manufacturing facilities in Gadsden, Alabama, Manchester, Kentucky and Taipei, Taiwan. In 1983, MSI and its subsidiaries had gross revenues exceeding $49 million. Interarms or its affiliates have no ownership interest in MSI, Ranger or other subsidiaries controlled by MSI. MSI is basically a holding company.
Interarms furnished Ranger with the Walther design specifications for the pistols. On that basis, Ranger had to design and develop a process to manufacture the pistols. Neither Walther nor Interarms furnished them with any advice or information on how to undertake this task.
. . . .
Based on the foregoing analysis, the court makes the following conclusions of law:
(1) this court, has jurisdiction over Interarms' refund suit and the Government's counterclaim pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1346(a)(1);
(2) Interarms is not the "manufacturer," under section 4181 of the Internal Revenue Code, of the Walther PPK/S model pistols sold during the quarters ending June 30, 1980, through September 30, 1982;
(3) Interarms is entitled to recover the sum of $3,429.10 for the quarter ending June 30, 1980; and
(4) the Government's counterclaim is DENIED.
An appropriate order shall issue."
