Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod


Česká zbrojovka a.s. Uherský Brod is an engineering company based in Uherský Brod, whose main activities include the production of service, hunting and sports firearms. It is owned by the Czech company Česká zbrojovka Group SE, which also owns other companies with related production programmes.
CZUB currently has around 1800 employees. It is one of the largest Czech exporters, sending its products to more than a hundred countries around the world. The company is among the top ten small arms manufacturers in the world and five that manufacture automatic firearms.

History

1936 – Establishment of the arms factory in Uherský Brod

Today’s Česká zbrojovka a.s. was built as part of a large-scale transfer of strategically important production capacities of the former Czechoslovakia as far as possible from the western borders threatened by Nazi Germany. In Uherský Brod in the south-east of Moravia, a brand new arms factory was established, which was one of the most modern and most efficient factory worldwide, and which, in the first years of its existence, was successfully engaged primarily in the highly demanding production of aircraft machine guns.

1949 – Start of the production of Sa vz. 26 submachine guns

After World War II, the joint-stock company Česká zbrojovka was nationalized and its branch factory in Uherský Brod, which became independent in 1950, gradually became the main Czechoslovak manufacturer of small firearms. Its most famous products from the immediate post-war period were the Sa vz. 23 submachine guns, chambered in the common 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge. The Sa vz. 23 were the first production-model submachine guns with a telescoping bolt, which the bolt wraps around the barrel, which made the vz. 26 shorter and more compact than the other submachine guns at the time. By 1953, 545,000 were produced in Uherský Brod, 345,000 of which were of the 7.62 mm Tokarev variants.

1959 – Start of the production of the vz. 58 assault rifle

The vz. 58 assault rifle chambered in the 7.62×39 mm cartridge, was a Czechoslovak alternative to the Soviet's AK-47 with an original design. This exceptionally well-designed firearm was produced in Uherský Brod for the national armed forces as well as for export until 1984 and the total production volume reached about 920,000 units.

1962 – Start of the production of the vz. 61 Škorpion machine pistol

The well-known compact vz. 61 Škorpion machine pistol was an ingenious and very successful attempt to fill the gap between submachine guns and semi-automatic pistols. More than 200,000 of these machine pistols in the standard.32 ACP cartridge were produced in Uherský Brod until 2000, and small batches of these machine pistols in the.380 ACP version were produced in the 1990s.

1975 – Start of the production of the CZ 75 pistol

The CZ 75 semi-automatic pistol, revolutionary in a number of aspects, was the work of the well-known designer František Koucký, who worked on its development based on an assignment of today’s Česká zbrojovka a.s since 1969. This firearm with perfect ergonomics and unique double-action trigger mechanism co-defined the category of Wonder Nines, i.e. large capacity SA/DA pistols chambered in 9x19mm Parabellum, and has long been one of the most popular of them.

1992 – Founding of Česká zbrojovka, a.s., Uherský Brod

Privatization of the state-owned enterprise Česká zbrojovka transformed it into a joint-stock company, which concentrates its activities in its main plant in Uherský Brod on the development and production of high-quality firearms, while utilizing its remaining capacity for the production of high-precision components for the automotive and aerospace industry. It is a Czech company owned by Czech shareholders.

1997 – Founding of the CZ-USA subsidiary company

The position of Česká zbrojovka, a.s. on the world’s most prestigious firearms market has significantly strengthened by the establishment of the subsidiary distribution and service company CZ-USA. This subsidiary started its activities in California, but in 1998 it relocated to Kansas City, Kansas, where it still operates. Within the creation of the international holding Česká zbrojovka Group, CZ-USA became an independent business entity.

2004 – Acquisition of the firearms production of Zbrojovka Brno

In order to preserve the famous tradition of firearms production in Brno, Česká zbrojovka a.s began preparing to take over the Firearms division of Zbrojovka Brno, a.s. The newly created company, originally named BRNO RIFLES, started its activities at the turn of 2006 and its domain was the production and development of break action firearms. In 2008 it became a subsidiary company of Česká zbrojovka a.s. In 2010 the company was renamed to ZBROJOVKA BRNO, s.r.o.

2005 – Acquisition of the Dan Wesson Firearms brand

Česká zbrojovka, a.s., through its subsidiary CZ-USA became the owner of one of renowned American arms brands – Dan Wesson Firearms. This company, originally a revolver maker founded in 1968 by a grandson of the well-known Daniel B. Wesson, with its Czech-American management soon became one of the most distinguished manufacturers of modern clones of the famous M1911 pistol.

2011 – Entering the market of firearms for armed forces , beginning of the rearmament of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic

Beginning of the mass production of the new generation of CZ 805 BREN A1/A2 assault rifles, CZ SCORPION EVO 3 A1 submachine guns and CZ 805 BREN G1 grenade launchers, which were used to rearm the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic.

2016 – Building of assembly capacities in Peru

Česká zbrojovka a.s significantly penetrated foreign markets by opening a separate space for the assembly and repairs of CZ pistols at the FAME army plant in Lima, Peru. The Czech company participated in the project by supplying modern equipment and tools and training of technical personnel. This enabled the Peruvian company to assemble CZ guns, provide service and sell them on the Peruvian market and then throughout Latin America. It was the first case of technological transfer of Česká zbrojovka a.s to this promising region.

2018 – Absorbed into CZ Group holding

Since 2018, Česká zbrojovka a.s has been part of the international holding Česká zbrojovka Group SE that, in addition to the parent plant in Uherský Brod, gradually incorporates other companies with related production and development programmes.

2019 – Start of the production of CZ firearms in the United States

In cooperation with CZ-USA, the production of the first CZ firearms was launched in Kansas City, Kansas. These include selected models of the successful CZ P-10 series of pistols. Other versions were added in the same year, namely CZ P-10 F, CZ P-10 SC and CZ P-10 S.

Notable developments

Over the years Česká zbrojovka has developed several revolutionary or highly influential designs in various fields of small arms, most notably:

Pistols

Handguns