COLT CANADA
Expired Business Member
- Location
- Kitchener, ON
What is a Diemaco?
Diemaco was originally a die making company (DIE MAking COmpany), started in 1976, and was originally part of Magna International.
Diemaco began producing small arms parts as part of a move to consolidate a large number of small contracts to produce parts after Canadian Arsenals Limited was shut down.
Diemaco was later named as the producer of the Canadian version of the M16 after the SARP trials concluded and a contract was awarded in February 1983 to produce 79,935 C7 rifles and 1,565 C8 carbines.
The Canadian government procured the licence after testing numerous rifles in all climatic conditions, including the extreme cold trials in 1979. Colt provided the updated (Technical Data Package (TDP) to Diemaco and work commenced to update the TDP for the M16A1E2 to the Canadian Specifications - including an entirely new Canadian TDP. There were numerous changes and updates to meet the new stringent requirements.
A number of engineering changes were required. Some were as simple as making the rifles bilingual. The "Up" was removed from the front sight for example. Some of the changes were obvious - the innovative hammer forging process which is sill unique was developed and proven. Many changes were updating tolerances and material specifications. Nearly the entire Canadian drawing package fits inside the tolerances of the US M16 TDP.
Diemaco was sold to Devtek, an aircraft component supplier, and the "D" was actually the Devtek corporate logo. Devtek later merged with Heroux to become Heroux Devtek,
Diemaco was later awarded the title Centre of Excellence for Small Arms for Canada. Colt Canada remains the only entity outside of the United States that is able to bid directly on DoD contracts. Our Quality System is certified and registered to ISO 9001:2008. Canadian Forces Quality Assurance representatives reside on site at our manufacturing facility and are available to support our export clients as well as domestic. The quality system also meets NATO AQAP standards. Many components are marked for tracking purposes and each barrel, extension and bolt are marked with a batch number after passing all the required inspections.
After numerous requests and a change of laws in Ottawa, Diemaco was allowed to export in 1994. Diemaco supplied the entire military of the Netherlands and Denmark as well as numerous special forces units across our allies.
Colt purchased Diemaco in 2005. The company was re-named Colt Canada, however very little changed. There were no changes to production, and the role that Diemaco had played for the government of Canada remained. Later, as required for military contracts, the famous "D" roll mark and proof marks were replaced with the Colt Canada logo and manufacturing licence information on the lower receiver and CC on barrels and bolts to identify where the items were produced. The Colt Canada NCAGE code (2C085) now appears on every rifle.
In addition to producing a line of rifles, Colt Canada produces numerous components for the CAF, serves as a factory level maintenance facility for nearly all the small arms in the CAF arsenal. Colt Canada also focuses on research and development and testing of small arms. The full engineering and integrated logistic support department supports numerous customer and internally driven projects using a state of the art laboratory that includes environmental test chambers and a number of instrumented indoor range facilities. Every weapon produced by Colt Canada is subjected to the stringent NATO D14 test protocols to ensure system safety and reliability in all conditions.
In 2014 Colt Canada was granted a manufacturer's licence agreement to produce and sell the first commercial rifles to the Canadian market. The designs submitted were to commemorate 30 years of producing the C7 with rifles similar to the two current service weapons of the Canadian Armed Forces. Samples were produced and delivered to the RCMP, along with a separate serial number set to obtain an FRT number. A full production TDP was produced for the commercial rifles. The decision was made and supported in Hartford to bring back the Diemaco name for commercial sales. The big "D" roll mark tool was brought down from the golden altar and put back to work.
The barrels, and most components are identical to the CAF versions, however an M4 upper and extension were chosen to allow for the use of non-standard commercial ammunition which often does not always feed as well as NATO standard ammunition. Each commercial rifle follows the same quality program as any other duty use firearm.
Colt Canada employs over 100 people in Kitchener, Ontario and is supported by over 80 subcontractors across the region.
Also in 2014, Colt Canada sponsored CGN!
Diemaco was originally a die making company (DIE MAking COmpany), started in 1976, and was originally part of Magna International.
Diemaco began producing small arms parts as part of a move to consolidate a large number of small contracts to produce parts after Canadian Arsenals Limited was shut down.
Diemaco was later named as the producer of the Canadian version of the M16 after the SARP trials concluded and a contract was awarded in February 1983 to produce 79,935 C7 rifles and 1,565 C8 carbines.
The Canadian government procured the licence after testing numerous rifles in all climatic conditions, including the extreme cold trials in 1979. Colt provided the updated (Technical Data Package (TDP) to Diemaco and work commenced to update the TDP for the M16A1E2 to the Canadian Specifications - including an entirely new Canadian TDP. There were numerous changes and updates to meet the new stringent requirements.
A number of engineering changes were required. Some were as simple as making the rifles bilingual. The "Up" was removed from the front sight for example. Some of the changes were obvious - the innovative hammer forging process which is sill unique was developed and proven. Many changes were updating tolerances and material specifications. Nearly the entire Canadian drawing package fits inside the tolerances of the US M16 TDP.
Diemaco was sold to Devtek, an aircraft component supplier, and the "D" was actually the Devtek corporate logo. Devtek later merged with Heroux to become Heroux Devtek,
Diemaco was later awarded the title Centre of Excellence for Small Arms for Canada. Colt Canada remains the only entity outside of the United States that is able to bid directly on DoD contracts. Our Quality System is certified and registered to ISO 9001:2008. Canadian Forces Quality Assurance representatives reside on site at our manufacturing facility and are available to support our export clients as well as domestic. The quality system also meets NATO AQAP standards. Many components are marked for tracking purposes and each barrel, extension and bolt are marked with a batch number after passing all the required inspections.
After numerous requests and a change of laws in Ottawa, Diemaco was allowed to export in 1994. Diemaco supplied the entire military of the Netherlands and Denmark as well as numerous special forces units across our allies.
Colt purchased Diemaco in 2005. The company was re-named Colt Canada, however very little changed. There were no changes to production, and the role that Diemaco had played for the government of Canada remained. Later, as required for military contracts, the famous "D" roll mark and proof marks were replaced with the Colt Canada logo and manufacturing licence information on the lower receiver and CC on barrels and bolts to identify where the items were produced. The Colt Canada NCAGE code (2C085) now appears on every rifle.
In addition to producing a line of rifles, Colt Canada produces numerous components for the CAF, serves as a factory level maintenance facility for nearly all the small arms in the CAF arsenal. Colt Canada also focuses on research and development and testing of small arms. The full engineering and integrated logistic support department supports numerous customer and internally driven projects using a state of the art laboratory that includes environmental test chambers and a number of instrumented indoor range facilities. Every weapon produced by Colt Canada is subjected to the stringent NATO D14 test protocols to ensure system safety and reliability in all conditions.
In 2014 Colt Canada was granted a manufacturer's licence agreement to produce and sell the first commercial rifles to the Canadian market. The designs submitted were to commemorate 30 years of producing the C7 with rifles similar to the two current service weapons of the Canadian Armed Forces. Samples were produced and delivered to the RCMP, along with a separate serial number set to obtain an FRT number. A full production TDP was produced for the commercial rifles. The decision was made and supported in Hartford to bring back the Diemaco name for commercial sales. The big "D" roll mark tool was brought down from the golden altar and put back to work.
The barrels, and most components are identical to the CAF versions, however an M4 upper and extension were chosen to allow for the use of non-standard commercial ammunition which often does not always feed as well as NATO standard ammunition. Each commercial rifle follows the same quality program as any other duty use firearm.
Colt Canada employs over 100 people in Kitchener, Ontario and is supported by over 80 subcontractors across the region.
Also in 2014, Colt Canada sponsored CGN!
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