This supply peaked in 1937-38, with shipments from Rheinmetall-Borsig worth up to 40 million Reichsmarks each. Nationalists identified 18 vessels sent to Republican ports from 3 January 1937 to 11 May 1938 and estimated that Goering received the equivalent of one pound sterling per rifle. In November 1937 Bodosakis traveled to Barcelona in a Soviet aircraft and signed a contract to supply ammunition to the Republic for £2.1 million, in hard currency in advance. There have also been reports that the company assembled airplanes for the nationalist forces. Pyrkal's production was particularly crucial for Greece up to and during World War II. The company facilities were used by the German forces during Greece's occupation by the Axis (as a planned last-moment transfer of equipment and/or destruction of the company facilities to prevent such usage was not realized). The end of the War found the company in ruins, with equipment and material looted by retreating German forces. The machine works (once called "the largest in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East") were almost completely destroyed. The rebirth of Pyrkal resembles a miracle. The company started producing metal products and consumer items, but it recovered fast to its pre-War status as it benefited greatly from orders by the Hellenic Army, NATO and, ironically, West Germany. The next two decades were a period of prosperity and expansion, with new facilities built and new products developed. 1970s and 1980s: change of fortunes The company suffered a serious blow when the Greek state decided to create EBO in 1976, which initially undertook production of the Heckler and Koch G3 rifle adopted by the Greek Army in place of the FN FAL that Pyrkal had already started producing under licence (a number of FN FAL's had originally been bought by the Greek Military from Belgium, and about 30,000 built by Pyrkal were exported to other countries). The development of EBO seriously hurt Pyrkal's performance, as the two companies offered partially overlapping products. Pyrkal was hurt further by the loss of traditional export markets in the 1970s. Other parts of Bodossakis's "empire" also faced problems, and the state finally intervened in the early 1980s. In 1982 Pyrkal, almost bankrupt and a shadow of its former self (but still employing thousands), was nationalized. Ever since, its financial performance has been shaky at best. New efforts and merger with EBO The company has nonetheless invested in diversification and