George Kellgren (born May 23, 1943) is a Swedish-born firearms designer, inventor and founder of the gun manufacturer Kel-Tec. His designs include the Intratec TEC-9, Kel-Tec P-11, Kel-Tec KSG, Kel-Tec SUB-2000 carbine and Grendel P10 .380 ACP pocket pistol.[1][2]
George Kellgren | |
|---|---|
| Born | Göran Lars Magnus Kjellgren May 23, 1943 Borås, Sweden |
| Nationality | Swedish |
| Citizenship | American |
| Occupation(s) | CEO of Kel-Tec, firearms designer |
| Website | www |
Early life
editKellgren was born in Sweden. He enlisted in the navy before beginning a career as a firearms designer.[3]
Design career
editHe designed many firearms earlier for Husqvarna and Swedish Interdynamics AB in Sweden. He moved to the USA in 1979 and his original USA designs were for Intratec and Grendel brand firearms. He founded Kel-Tec in 1991.[4][better source needed] Grendel Inc went out of business in 1994 as a result of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban. Kel-Tec had been doing much of the machining for Grendel and the closure of Grendel allowed Kel-Tec to expand their focus ultimately finding a very profitable niche in handgun manufacturing.[3]
References
edit- ^ US 7469496
- ^ Stanford, Andy (2001). "Perfectly Small". Guns Magazine.
- ^ a b "WATCH: Cocoa's KelTec Sends Rifles to Ukrainian Civilians to Resist Russian Onslaught". spacecoastdaily.com. Space Coast Daily. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ Who's Who in the South and Southwest (28 ed.). Marquis Who's Who, LLC. 2001. p. 352. ISBN 978-0-8379-0832-8.