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Maremont Weapon Systems

Maremont was a U.S. industrial company whose Saco, Maine defense operation manufactured M60-family machine guns and related gun-barrel work for U.S. government customers before the Saco business was separated and sold.

1 weapon systems

Maremont's relevance to this archive comes through its Saco, Maine weapons operation. A federal court record states that Maremont acquired a controlling interest in Saco-Lowell Shops by 1963, renamed the operation as Maremont's New England Division, and later called it Saco Defense Systems Division.

U.S. government records identify Maremont of Saco, Maine as the manufacturer tied to the M60 and M60E2 machine-gun family in the 1970s. The Saco defense business was transferred to Saco Defense, Inc. at the end of 1984 and sold by Maremont in 1987, so later Saco Defense and U.S. Ordnance M60-family work should be treated as successor-lineage context rather than current Maremont production.

Machine gunsSmall arms manufacturingGun barrelsDefense manufacturingAutomotive components

Notable Systems

M60 general-purpose machine gun

A Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms guide listed the M60 military machine gun's manufacturer as Maremont Corp., Saco, Maine; GAO also described a Maremont M60 then in Army infantry use.

Sources: ATF News Media Guide to Firearms, GAO Maremont Corporation Decision

M60E2 coaxial machine gun

GAO records describe Maremont's M60E2 as the U.S.-made coaxial machine-gun candidate evaluated against FN's MAG58 for replacing the M-219 on U.S. armored vehicles.

Sources: GAO Maremont Corporation Decision

30 mm gain-twist gun barrels

A federal court record states that Saco, while under Maremont ownership, produced and delivered more than 6,000 30 mm gain-twist gun barrels under U.S. Air Force contracts.

Sources: Chamberlain Manufacturing v. Maremont

Builder History

  1. Maremont company roots

    TIME described Maremont in 1964 as an 87-year-old company founded by Arnold Maremont's father, placing the company's roots in 1877.

    Sources: TIME: A Man of Many Parts

  2. Saco-Lowell interest acquired

    By 1963, Maremont had acquired a controlling interest in Saco-Lowell Shops in Saco, Maine and renamed the operation as Maremont's New England Division.

    Sources: Chamberlain Manufacturing v. Maremont

  3. Maremont M60E2 protest

    Maremont of Saco, Maine protested the Army's planned selection of FN's MAG58 over the Maremont-manufactured M60E2 coaxial machine gun.

    Sources: GAO Maremont Corporation Decision

  4. Saco Defense separated

    Maremont transferred the business, assets, and contracts of Saco Defense Systems Division to Saco Defense, Inc., a shell corporation it had established earlier.

    Sources: Chamberlain Manufacturing v. Maremont

  5. Saco Defense sold to Chamberlain

    Chamberlain Manufacturing acquired all outstanding Saco Defense shares from Maremont for a stated purchase price of $32,925,942.

    Sources: Chamberlain Manufacturing v. Maremont

  6. Maremont reorganized under trust ownership

    Meritor announced that its equity interests in reorganized Maremont had been cancelled and that a trust owned 100 percent of reorganized Maremont after its asbestos-liability reorganization.

    Sources: Meritor Chapter 11 Plan Consummation

Predecessors
Saco-Lowell Shops
Successors
Saco Defense, Inc.Cummins Drivetrain and Braking Systems
Subsidiaries
Saco Defense, Inc.
Website links
GAO decision on Maremont M60E2 protestChamberlain Manufacturing v. Maremont corporate historyCummins drivetrain and braking systems

Maremont is a legacy, non-operating company and its defense-production history is documented mostly through government records, court records, and later successor corporate disclosures. Relationship arrays are simplified for schema compatibility: Saco-Lowell Shops is listed because Maremont acquired a controlling interest and renamed the Saco operation; Saco Defense, Inc. is listed because Maremont transferred the Saco Defense Systems Division business into it and later sold it; Cummins Drivetrain and Braking Systems is listed only as current successor corporate context through Meritor. No rights-clear image directly tied to Maremont or its Saco defense operation was found during this pass; noncommercial or generic weapon imagery was not added.

Builder Sources

  • GAO Maremont Corporation DecisionPublisher: U.S. Government Accountability Office | Note: Supports Maremont of Saco, Maine as the M60E2 manufacturer and documents Maremont's role in M60 and M60E2 machine-gun testing and procurement history. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • ATF News Media Guide to FirearmsPublisher: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms via Office of Justice Programs | Note: Supports the catalog-relevant manufacturer link by listing the M60 military machine gun manufacturer as Maremont Corp., Saco, Maine. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • Chamberlain Manufacturing v. MaremontPublisher: Justia | Note: Supports the Saco-Lowell acquisition, Maremont New England/Saco Defense Systems Division naming, Saco Defense transfer, sale to Chamberlain, and 30 mm gun-barrel contract context. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • Life and Times of the M60Publisher: Small Arms Defense Journal | Note: Supports M60-family background and later Saco Defense M60E4/Mk43 lineage context after the Maremont-era Saco business was separated. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • TIME: A Man of Many PartsPublisher: TIME | Note: Supports Maremont corporate background, Chicago industrial context, founding-era statement, and diversification outside automotive parts. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • Meritor Chapter 11 Plan ConsummationPublisher: Meritor via PR Newswire | Note: Supports Maremont's non-operating Meritor subsidiary status, Arvin acquisition background, and 2019 trust ownership after reorganization. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • Cummins completes acquisition of MeritorPublisher: Cummins | Note: Supports current successor corporate context for Meritor after Cummins completed its acquisition in 2022. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • Cummins drivetrain and braking systemsPublisher: Cummins | Note: Supports the current official successor website used for the profile website field; it is successor corporate context rather than evidence of Maremont defense production. | Accessed: 2026-06-21

Category

Infantry Weapons

Portable weapons used by soldiers and small units.

1
M60 general-purpose machine gun, 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, Infantry WeaponsBoko Haram Insurgency, Colombian FARC Dissident Conflict +1 moreM60 general-purpose machine gun7.62 mm general-purpose machine gunBuilt in: United StatesThe M60 is a U.S.-origin 7.62x51 mm NATO belt-fed general-purpose machine gun built for ground, tripod, vehicle, and aircraft-mounted fire support. In the Boko Haram Insurgency, analysts have identified rare M60 machine guns in Boko Haram/JAS and ISWAP media, likely reflecting captured or diverted state weapons rather than formal insurgent procurement.