Atelier Mécanique de Mulhouse

History

After World War II, the Mauser firearms factory was captured by French Forces and restarted to supply the French. Mauser's Department 37 development group was placed under control of the French War Department's armament group, Direction des Etudes et Fabrication d'Armement (DEFA). The Mauser factory was renamed the DEFA Development Center, Oberndorf. The French continued work there through 1946, when German workers and equipment began to be transferred to the Mulhouse area of Alsace. The Alsace region was chosen because most of the people were bilingual in French and German. The new facility became the Centre d'Etudes et d'Armement de Mulhouse (CEAM). The transfer of operations to Mulhouse was complete by March 1948. The Mauser factory itself was ultimately destroyed by the French.

In February 1948, former Mauser engineers Ludwig Vorgrimler and Theodor Löffler were assigned the development of roller-delayed carbines for the French. They worked separately on carbines for the experimental 7.65×35mm cartridge, developed by Cartoucherie de Valence. Their carbines were patterned upon the prototype StG45, which had been under development at Mauser prior to the end of the war. The French ultimately abandoned their 7.65×35mm cartridge in favor of the US .30 carbine cartridge. Vorgrimler and Löffler then went to work on roller delayed carbines for the latter cartridge. Ultimately, Löffler's designs won out. Vorgrimler then devoted his efforts to improving Löffler's designs. Eventually, Vorgrimler tired of this and left CEAM at the end of June, 1950. Months later, Vorgrimler joined CETME in Spain.

Löffler's design, designated the Carabine Mitrailleuse Modèle 1950 (CEAM Modèle 1950), was retained for trials among 12 different prototypes designed by CEAM, MAC and MAS. By 1952, the French dropped the idea of making their own carbine, and decided to concentrate on full-power rifles in 7.5×54mm and 7.62×51mm NATO. Accordingly, Löffler began work on roller-delayed rifle designs in these calibers. These included both conventional layout and bullpup configurations.

Also in 1952, CEAM took control of the former Fabrique d'Objets Métalliques du Haut-Rhin (FOMHAR) metalworking factory. Now with manufacturing capability, CEAM gained its independence from MAC, and was renamed Atelier Mécanique de Mulhouse (AME). Löffler ultimately abandoned the roller-delayed principle for conventional gas-operation. By the 1960s, he had left to return to Germany, where he found employment at Rheinmetall.

In 1964, AME's Small Calibre Department was closed. The rest of the factory was closed in 1967.