Michelle Cantoni, CEO of FN UK, shares how the company remains at the forefront of British defense manufacturing
Under the umbrella of the FN Browning Group, the world’s leading designer and manufacturer of small caliber weapons and integrated weapon systems, FN UK is a small arms manufacturer based in the UK. As the sole manufacturer of military assault rifles and machine guns in the UK, the business prides itself on long-term support for British Armed Forces.
FN’s operations in the UK have gradually expanded, with several investments to bolster manufacturing capabilities and precision engineering. Michelle Cantoni, CEO, joins Manufacturing Today to share the company’s evolution and latest investments, as well as reflect on how a 15-year career in the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) brought her to FN UK.
“The business, then known as Manroy Engineering, began manufacturing parts for machine guns for the UK MOD in 1975,” Michelle opens. “It slowly expanded into design, development, and production of the heavy machine gun (HMG) and general purpose machine gun (GPMG), continuing this way until 2014 when the company was acquired by the Herstal Group, which is now called the FN Browning Group. We’ve been a part of FN ever since, and 2025 marks the milestone of 50 years of design and manufacturing in the UK.
“Celebrating its 135th anniversary, the group rebranded earlier this month from Herstal to FN Browning Group, hence we’re now known as FN UK. FN predominantly covers the defense and security markets, whereas Browning caters to the commercial and hunting sector. Both are well-known brands that needed to be aligned in a unified platform.
“In the UK,” she continues, “our manufacturing site comprises around 40,000 square feet of operational space, including manufacturing capabilities like CNC machines, lathes, grinding, chroming, painting, and phosphating. It’s relatively unusual in this industry to have all these capabilities in-house, along with an assembly area, and the ability to fully refurbish equipment.
“One of the biggest projects on the horizon is relocation within the next four years,” she shares. “This move will give us the opportunity to replace older pieces of equipment, and instead bring in new, more efficient, and automated equipment. In terms of current automation, we have a new blasting machine arriving in the next few months, which is predicted to reduce the process time from ten minutes to just one minute.”
In terms of products, Michelle explains: “Some products are fully manufactured in the UK, but we also produce parts for sister companies within the group. In the UK, we fully manufacture heavy machine guns known as the M2 across the globe, the 7.62-millimeter general purpose machine gun (GPMG) known in Europe as the MAG 58, and weapon mounts. We also assemble rifles and pistols in the UK, as well as a variety of machine gun parts, including for the new EVOLYS ultralight machine gun that is currently being industrialized.
“As a group, we pride ourselves on the quality of our products. All products are precision engineered before going through a strict quality control process; the product must work well. We must also consider safety, as although they are lethal products, we need to protect the person using them. All weapons are taken to a range by an expert team, where they are tested under stringent criteria and proofed as compliant with regional laws. This approach extends to our suppliers too, with a whole range of processes, procedures, and inspection equipment to ensure quality and safety across the supply chain.”
The business is due to be awarded a significant contract valued at £40 million for the MOD’s Mid Life Improvement (MLI) of the UK Armed Forces’ in-service heavy machine guns. “We’re very excited to embark on this project, which will see the entire fleet of machine guns coming through our UK factory,” Michelle elaborates. “The MLI program will see us return to the customer a fully refurbished weapon including new parts.
“The heavy machine gun design is more than 100 years old, but by refurbishing it we can guarantee each weapon to 60,000 rounds, extending the product’s life and
making it a cost-effective decision for the MOD. We’re currently in trial phase and the plan is to complete a three-year refurbishment program under the five-year contract.”
Michelle’s diverse path to becoming FN UK’s CEO started with a degree in mechanical engineering. “I’ve been in the defense industry my whole career; I was lucky enough to be selected by the MOD to do a one-year placement, and I went on to be sponsored by them to work in the field of munitions and ordnance,” she explains. “After 15 years in the MOD across various roles and departments, I ended my role there by working on the mechanized infantry vehicle, which is a major project for the UK Government and thus more political.
“I then became Managing Director of Level Peaks, a defense distributor in the UK representing predominantly American brands. After three years there, I was approached by FN for my current role, which I began in August 2023. It’s been an interesting journey and with the help of other CEOs in the group and the whole UK team, I’m learning a lot about the manufacturing side.”
Despite working in a male-dominated field, Michelle doesn’t view her gender as a barrier. “I’ve never had a problem standing up for myself and I’m more than happy to give anyone my views – that’s probably how I got to where I am today,” she laughs.
Turning to the future, Michelle shares her goals for FN UK. “We’ve just become silver signatories to the Armed Forces Covenant to highlight the ways in which we support Armed Forces through the recruitment of ex-military personnel, as well as reservists,” she reveals.
“As the sole manufacturers of military assault rifles and machine guns in the UK, we’re striving to be recognized as an onshore strategic capability within the UK MOD following the recognition of ammunition as a key capability,” Michelle concludes. “I’d also like us to be the supplier for the Army’s next generation rifle. With the existing capabilities to manufacture this rifle in the UK, this means UK soldiers could be using UK manufactured products, which is a great sentiment not only for the business, but for the entire country.”