For everything else: we follow the political directives, we don't make them." H&K will not comment on these matters specifically, but a spokesman told the Guardian by email: "Legality and conforming to weapons and export guidelines are our economic foundation – without these, no export licence, no commissions. The German government says it knows nothing of this. The company's troubles have drawn more and more attention in Germany, with a new TV documentary uncovering evidence of another possibly illegal transaction with the Mexican government, which apparently paid H&K €1.2m for technical assistance. On top of that, the company is caught in a lawsuit with two of its former employees over an illegal deal with Mexico, with a state prosecutors' investigation expected to be concluded soon. Last July, the company announced it was in debt to the tune of €270m (£223m), a year after a downgrade from ratings agency Moody's. Despite its immense success, H&K is going through tough times. Germany is now third on the list of the world's top arms exporters, behind the US and Russia (the UK is at No 5), with approved arms exports worth €2.1bn (£1.73bn) in 2010. One estimates that H&K guns kill an average of 114 people a day. No one knows for sure how many H&K guns are in use, carried by everyone from Hezbollah to the San Francisco police force, but campaigners estimate there may be anywhere between 7m and 20m G3 assault rifles alone. Its G36 assault rifle is military issue everywhere from Germany to Egypt to Brazil to Indonesia and was used by the British SAS in the Iraq war. Its MP5 submachine gun is used by the US and UK special forces (Osama bin Laden was, as the German press patriotically reported, probably killed with the upgraded MP7A1). Oberndorf's biggest employer is Heckler & Koch, one of the world's leading makers of firearms, whose "precision engineering" has been fired in every corner of the world. Oberndorf has things other than aesthetics to be proud of, for its people are good at making machines – sawing machines, drilling machines, machine tools, machine parts, and its speciality: a two-century tradition of weapons-making. Instead, the town consists of several industrial complexes wedged into the valley, with housing estates and giant supermarkets climbing up over the surrounding hills. Yet Oberndorf's town centre doesn't include the cobbled square lined with woodcraft shops you'd expect of a German town like this. This is the heart of Baden-Württemberg: tranquil and prosperous, the sunniest and warmest part of Germany. Its 14,000 inhabitants live sheltered in the green and rocky Neckar valley, where the narrow, sparkling river Neckar grooves its way through the Black Forest in one of Germany's most picturesque corners. The town of Oberndorf should look a lot nicer.
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