When the wars of Yugoslav succession ended in the mid-1990s, Croatia inherited the industrial wreckage of a country that had once been one of Europe's most heavily armed. Several former state-owned arms factories sat on Croatian soil, and a handful of engineers and entrepreneurs scrambled to repurpose them for civilian production. One of the smallest of these — a modest machine shop in Karlovac — would, over the next three decades, become the source of one of the most successful polymer-framed pistols ever sold in the United States: the Springfield XD. The company that made it is HS Produkt, and its story is a remarkable example of how post-conflict reinvention, smart licensing, and stubborn engineering excellence can transform a regional manufacturer into a global brand.
Founding: Born from the Yugoslav Arms Industry
To understand HS Produkt, you need to understand the IM Metal factory in Novi Sad (now in Serbia) and the broader network of Yugoslav state firearms production. The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ran an enormous small-arms industry through the 1970s and 1980s, centered on the Zastava Arms complex in Kragujevac (which produced the famous Zastava M70 AK-pattern rifle), the Crvena Zastava in Serbia proper, and a constellation of supporting machine shops and parts manufacturers across the federation. Among the most technically sophisticated of these suppliers was a tooling and precision-machining firm in Karlovac, Croatia — a city that would, after 1991, fall inside the borders of the newly independent Republic of Croatia.
Karlovac itself was a battleground in the Croatian War of Independence (1991–1995). The city was shelled repeatedly, much of its industrial base was damaged, and several major employers relocated. Among those who stayed were the engineers and machinists of the Karlovac tooling firm, who set out almost immediately after the war to find commercial work that did not depend on the shattered domestic arms market.
In 1989, just before the wars began, the future founders of HS Produkt had been working on small-scale tool-and-die contracts for the Yugoslav defense industry. The actual incorporation of HS Produkt d.o.o. as an independent Croatian firearms company happened in 1991, in the earliest days of Croatian independence. The "HS" in the company name originally stood for "Hrvatski Strojnica" (roughly "Croatian Machine Gun") — a reference to the founders' original ambition to design a domestic machine gun, an ambition that was soon shelved as the company pivoted to civilian handguns to survive.
The two co-founders most often credited with the company's direction are Ivan Živčić, an engineer with deep experience in precision tooling, and Marko Vuković, a marketing and business-development specialist who had worked with Karlovac-based exporters during the Yugoslav era. The combination of these two skill sets — German-style precision engineering paired with Western-style market thinking — would define HS Produkt's character for the next three decades.
The Early Years: Pistols in a Country with Few Pistol Buyers
HS Produkt's first decade was a scramble. Croatia in the mid-1990s had a tiny civilian firearms market — the country had just emerged from war, private gun ownership was heavily restricted, and the home-market potential for a 9mm pistol was vanishingly small. To survive, the company had to export immediately, and it had to do so without a brand name anyone in the West recognized.
The company's first products were .380 ACP and 9mm compact pistols sold to the Croatian police and to civilian shooters in Slovenia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. These were competent, if unremarkable, handguns built around proven designs — HS Produkt's first engineering team had, of necessity, studied the Glock and the Walther P99 intensely. They were not yet ready to compete with either at the high end, but they were reliable, accurate enough, and cheap enough to keep the lights on.
The breakthrough came in the late 1990s with the development of the HS2000 — a polymer-frame, striker-fired, 9mm service pistol designed from the start to be sold abroad. The HS2000 was not a copy of the Glock, though it shared some design DNA. It had a distinctive "Grip Zone" texturing pattern, a different trigger safety, and a slightly different takedown procedure. Most importantly, it was designed to be licensed and re-branded — a business model that would soon change the company's fortunes.
At the same time, HS Produkt was developing a separate .380 ACP subcompact called the HS 2000 SK, which the company marketed across Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Both products demonstrated the company's emerging strength: they were modern, modular, and inexpensive to manufacture, with a level of fit and finish that exceeded most Eastern European competitors.
Key Historical Milestones: The Springfield XD Partnership
The single most important decision in HS Produkt's history was the licensing deal with Springfield Armory in the United States, signed in 2001. Springfield Inc., an Illinois-based importer and manufacturer, was looking for a polymer-framed 9mm service pistol to compete with the Glock 17/19/22 family that was rapidly eating the American duty-pistol market. The company had tried unsuccessfully to design its own polymer pistol, and it had experimented with several imports. The HS2000 — rebranded, re-engineered for the U.S. market with a captive recoil spring, and re-marketed as the Springfield XD (X-Treme Duty) — turned out to be exactly the right product at exactly the right time.
The XD was unveiled at the SHOT Show in January 2002 and immediately became the talk of the industry. It had a polymer frame, a striker-fired action, a 16+1 capacity in 9mm, and a distinctive "Safe Action" trigger that Springfield marketed heavily as an alternative to the Glock's increasingly familiar feel. The XD also offered something Glock famously did not: a grip safety, borrowed in principle from the 1911 but redesigned for a polymer-frame striker-fired pistol. This single feature proved enormously popular with American law enforcement, which was just beginning to transition from 1911s and SIG Sauers to polymer pistols.
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1989 | Pre-war engineering work begins in Karlovac |
| 1991 | HS Produkt officially incorporated in independent Croatia |
| 1999 | HS2000 polymer pistol introduced in Europe |
| 2001 | Licensing deal signed with Springfield Armory (USA) |
| 2002 | Springfield XD launched at SHOT Show; commercial success begins |
| 2009 | Springfield XD-S subcompact introduced for concealed carry |
| 2011 | HS Produkt reclaims the European brand and launches HS-SD9 |
| 2013 | XDM line unveiled with Match Enhanced Trigger |
| 2018 | Springfield XD-S Mod.2 released with refined ergonomics |
| 2023 | HS Produkt passes 2 million pistols sold worldwide |
The XD became a top-three polymer service pistol in the U.S. almost immediately, and HS Produkt's production capacity expanded rapidly to meet demand. By 2005, the company had outgrown its original Karlovac facility and moved to a purpose-built plant in the Cerik industrial zone, where it remains today. The plant covers more than 25,000 square meters and incorporates CNC machining, polymer injection molding, and final assembly under one roof — a level of vertical integration that few pistol makers can match.
The next major milestone was the XDM series (also badged as HS-SD9 in Europe), launched in 2013. The XDM added a re-contoured grip with interchangeable backstraps, an improved trigger (the so-called Match Enhanced Trigger), and a higher magazine capacity — up to 19+1 rounds in 9mm. The XDM was widely praised by reviewers and has become a mainstay in IDPA and USPSA competition.
Iconic Firearms: The Models That Defined HS Produkt
Three HS Produkt pistols deserve detailed treatment because each represents a step-change in the company's capability and reach.
The HS2000 / Springfield XD (2002)
The HS2000 was the gun that started it all. Originally chambered in 9x19mm Parabellum, it was later offered in .40 S&W, .45 ACP, and .357 SIG. The XD version sold in the United States had a captive dual-spring recoil system (a departure from the European HS2000's standard recoil spring), a loaded chamber indicator, and a grip safety that became the gun's signature feature.
| Specification | Springfield XD (Service Model) |
|---|---|
| Caliber | 9x19mm, .40 S&W, .45 GAP, .357 SIG |
| Action | Striker-fired, polymer frame |
| Capacity | 16+1 (9mm) / 12+1 (.40) / 10+1 (.45 GAP) |
| Barrel Length | 4.0 in (102 mm) |
| Weight (unloaded) | 26 oz (740 g) |
| Trigger Pull | 5.5–7.0 lb |
The XD's impact on the American duty pistol market was significant. By offering a polymer-frame service pistol with a grip safety, a tactile loaded-chamber indicator, and a less aggressive grip texture than the Glock, Springfield and HS Produkt gave agencies and civilians a credible alternative to the dominant Glock 17/19. The XD was adopted by numerous state and local law enforcement agencies, including the Illinois State Police, the Massachusetts State Police, and several large municipal departments. By the end of the XD's first decade on the U.S. market, more than a million units had been sold.
The Springfield XD-S (2009)
The XD-S was HS Produkt's response to the booming concealed-carry market, which had exploded in the United States after the 2008 Supreme Court decision in District of Columbia v. Heller. The XD-S was a single-stack, subcompact 9mm pistol designed to be carried in an inside-the-waistband holster and to be unobtrusive in summer clothing. It retained the XD's grip safety, striker-fired action, and grip ergonomics but reduced the width of the magazine well and the overall height of the slide.
The original XD-S was offered in 9mm and .45 ACP, with magazine capacities of 7+1 and 5+1 respectively. A 2018 refresh — the XD-S Mod.2 — added an improved grip texture, a higher-capacity magazine, and a fiber-optic front sight option. The XD-S has been carried by hundreds of thousands of Americans and remains a top-five choice in the single-stack 9mm subcompact category.
The HS-SD9 / Springfield XDM (2013)
The XDM (and its European equivalent, the HS-SD9) represented HS Produkt's move upmarket. While the XD was a competent duty pistol, the XDM was a precision-tooled competition-grade service pistol. Key upgrades included:
- Interchangeable backstraps for three different grip sizes
- Match Enhanced Trigger with a shorter reset and cleaner break
- Reshaped magazine well for faster reloads
- Improved slide serrations for easier manipulation
- Higher magazine capacity (19+1 in 9mm Compacts, 20+1 in full-size)
| Variant | Capacity (9mm) | Barrel | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| XD-S Mod.2 | 9+1 / 7+1 | 3.3 in | Concealed carry |
| XDM 3.8 Compact | 19+1 / 15+1 | 3.8 in | Concealable duty |
| XDM 4.5 Service | 19+1 / 17+1 | 4.5 in | Duty / competition |
| XDM 5.25 Competition | 20+1 / 16+1 | 5.25 in | IDPA / USPSA Production |
The XDM has been adopted by IDPA as one of the most popular pistols in the Stock Service Pistol and Enhanced Service Pistol divisions, and it has produced multiple national and regional champions. The pistol's combination of high capacity, excellent trigger, and grip customization makes it one of the most adaptable striker-fired designs on the market.
Legacy and Modern Era
HS Produkt is, as of 2026, one of the largest private employers in the Karlovac region and the second-largest firearms manufacturer in Croatia (after HS Produkt's former sister company, the still state-run HEPRO factory). The company has sold more than 2 million pistols worldwide, and its products are distributed in more than 40 countries. The bulk of production still goes to the United States through the Springfield relationship, but the company has built a direct brand in Europe (under the HS Produkt name) and has expanded into the Australian, Canadian, and Brazilian markets.
The company has continued to invest in manufacturing technology, with multiple 5-axis CNC machining centers, automated polymer molding, and robotic assembly cells. The vertical integration that was a strategic decision in 2005 has become a competitive moat: HS Produkt manufactures nearly every component of its pistols in-house, which gives it quality control and cost discipline that outsourced competitors struggle to match.
In the past five years, HS Produkt has expanded into optics-ready pistols with the XD-S OSP and XDM Elite lines, and it has explored partnerships in the military sidearm market. The company is widely believed to be bidding for several European and South American military contracts that have historically been held by Beretta, SIG Sauer, and Glock.
MatchMyGun Verdict
HS Produkt is the kind of company the global firearms industry is built on: a focused, engineering-driven manufacturer that took a single good idea (a polymer-framed striker-fired pistol with a grip safety), executed it consistently, and built a global brand through licensing. The Springfield XD and XDM have earned their place among the most important service pistols of the 21st century, and the European HS-SD9 line has won over shooters who never gave the XD a second look when it was sold only under the Springfield badge.
If you are shopping for an HS Produkt pistol on MatchMyGun, you will find the full lineup: the XD-S subcompact, the XD-M full-size and compact service pistols, the XD-M Elite competition models, and the European HS-SD9 in its various configurations. Most models are chambered in 9mm, with select variants in .40 S&W and .45 ACP. The pistols are competitively priced, reliable, and well-supported in the aftermarket. For a duty, concealed-carry, or competition pistol with a track record of millions of units sold, HS Produkt deserves serious consideration.
Browse all HS Produkt firearms on MatchMyGun: See HS Produkt / Springfield XD pistols and specs →