Česká zbrojovka (Strakonice)
| ČZ as Česká zbrojovka (Strakonice)
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|---|---|
 |
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| legal form | as |
| founding | 1919 |
| Seat | Prague |
| Number of employees | 2000 |
| Branch | Arms , engineering and other products |
| Website |
czas.cz/ czas.cz/…de |
The Česká zbrojovka as ( German Czech weapons works ), short ČZ as is an industrial company and conglomerate in Strakonice in the Czech Republic . The company also officially appears under the abbreviation ČZ as , for example on its website. The name Česká zbrojovka Strakonice is also used to distinguish it from other similarly named companies . At times the company was also called České závody motocyklové (ČZM).
The company was founded after the First World War as a manufacturer of firearms and is mainly known for self-loading pistols , machine tools , motorcycles of the ČZ brand and motor scooters of the Čezeta brand . The company has been active in the mechanical engineering sector for more than 80 years. The company, which mainly produces in the South Bohemian town of Strakonice , is based in Prague .
history
The founder of the company, the architect Karel Bubla , registered the Jihočeská zbrojovka (South Bohemian Arms Works) company in Strakonice in 1919 as a limited company based in Strakonice, and in 1920 began to produce automatic pistols - due to a lack of suitable production facilities, however, first in Pilsen . Only in 1921 did the company move to Strakonice - at that time already with 50 employees. After a merger with the Hubertus plant from Vejprty , the company was renamed Česká zbrojovka, akciová společnost v Praze s továrnou ve Strakonicích (Bohemian Arms Works, joint stock company in Prague with workshops in Strakonice). Products of the period included pistols, rifles, light machine guns, and machine guns for aircraft.
In 1929 the production of bicycles began, in 1932 the production of bicycles with auxiliary engines began; The first motorcycles were built from 1935 under the ČZ trademark, registered in 1930 , which later became one of the top products of the company, which became the largest manufacturer of motorcycles in Czechoslovakia. Machine tools were also in the product range.
Česká zbrojovka in Strakonice was, like some other arms factories in Bohemia, near the border with Germany. The danger posed by this country after Hitler came to power prompted the Defense Ministry in Prague to consider relocating such arms factories to the east. As a result, the ČZ-Werke in Strakonice established a second plant in Uherský Brod and put it into operation at the beginning of 1937, which later became Česká zbrojovka in Uherský Brod . After the annexation of Austria , this project became obsolete and became meaningless after the occupation of Czechoslovakia and the establishment of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia . After the occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1939, the plants were confiscated and until the end of the Second World War, weapons and war material were produced for the German military - in addition to the previous weapons, small light cannons and bombs were also produced.
After the war, Česká Zbrojovka was nationalized in 1946 and developed into a renowned motorcycle manufacturer. Internationally, the motocross and enduro models were particularly successful , with which the international six-day race and other races were won several times . The growing demand for motorcycle production led to the expansion of our own gray cast iron and aluminum die-casting foundry. In addition, motor scooters with the brand name Čezeta were produced.
The motorcycles were manufactured under the ČZ brand, only in the period 1954–1959 under the Jawa-ČZ brand, which was established jointly with the manufacturer Jawa . This happened as a result of the government's new specifications for the standardization of the production of some types (125 cm³, 175 cm³, 250 cm³ and 350 cm³); for this purpose, Česká zbrojovka Strakonice was renamed České závody motocyklové (Czech motorcycle company) ČZM . In 1959, the 1 millionth CZ motorcycle since 1945 was celebrated.
At the beginning of the 1950s, the government decided to reallocate weapons production and to sell some models that had previously been produced in Česká zbrojovka in Strakonice to Česká zbrojovka in Uherský Brod (then Závody přesného strojírenství ZPS). Due to organizational problems, this could only be done gradually in the second half of the 1950s. The weapons were then manufactured in Uherský Brod, but most of them with the logo of the Strakonice factory for a long time.
With the decline in motorcycle production in the 1980s, the company continued to produce its traditional products such as chains, tools, molds, cast parts and processing machines, but it also switched to the manufacture of car components, gearboxes and turbochargers. The following years saw a number of changes in the structure and production of the company. In 1992, ČZ was converted into a joint stock company and re-privatized in 1993. Motorcycle production was to be ensured in a joint venture company ( ČZ-Cagiva ) with the Italian company Cagiva , which, however, itself a motorcycle manufacturer and thus a competitor, ended production in 1997 in favor of its own products.
Production areas
According to its own statements , the parent company Česká Zbrojovka Strakonice today focuses on the following production areas:
- Components and parts for the automotive industry, around 80 percent of total production, including component deliveries and participation in the production of Škoda Auto and other manufacturers (differential housings, synchronizer rings for manual transmissions, front wall hoods, cylinder head covers, etc.)
- Turbochargers for internal combustion engines with an engine output of 25–400 kW for trucks, utility vehicles, buses, tractors, as well as for stationary systems
- Gray cast iron and nodular cast iron parts (ribbed cylinders of air-cooled motors and compressors, turbine and bearing housings for turbochargers, etc.)
- Aluminum die-cast parts and press machines for the automotive and consumer goods industries
- Tool making: die casting molds for aluminum and zinc alloys, molds for plastics and rubber, sheet metal forming tools, tools for precision cutting, special cutting tools
- Forklift trucks with a load capacity of 1.2 to 8 tons
Subsidiaries
The Česká Zbrojovka Strakonice has the following subsidiaries (with a 100 percent stake):
- ČZ Řetězy, sro (ČZ Ketten GmbH), Strakonice: Production of roller, sleeve and special chains as well as machines for making chains
- ČZ Strojírna, sro (ČZ Maschinenwerke GmbH), Strakonice: production of processing and special machines; Production of internal cylindrical grinding machines; General repairs of machines
- ČZ Gastro, sro (ČZ Gastro Ltd.), Strakonice: Catering for own staff and preparation of meals for external customers
The group also includes:
- ČZ-TURBO-GAZ as (ČZ-TURBO-GAZ AG) in Nizhny Novgorod , Russia (51 percent share capital), which is intended to secure the production of turbochargers in the Eastern markets
- PEDICA CZ, as (PEDICA CZ, AG), Prague (33.3 percent stake): mediation of trade and various services
- T servis as (T service AG), Prague: Subsidiary of Pedica AG (100 percent stake): Brokerage of trade and various services
The company DESTA-NOVA, as (DESTA-NOVA AG) in Děčín with a 49.54 percent stake is in bankruptcy.
Traditional products
Of all the products manufactured in Česká zbrojovka in Strakonice, handguns and motorcycles were able to show the greatest diversity, and they also shaped the company's reputation and reputation for a very long time.
Handguns
Česká zbrojovka Strakonice has produced numerous handguns. Here is a selection:
Gun vz. 24
Submachine gun vz. 48
Rifle vz. 52
motorcycles
If one disregards the first motorcycle ČZ 76 "Kaktus" (1932–1933) and three models ČZ 98 (1934–1946) as well as the scooters of the subsidiary brand Čezeta , the ČZ motorcycles were produced in six basic displacement classes:
- 125 cc
- 150 cc
- 175 cc
- 250 cc
- 350 cc
- 500 cc
In each displacement class, motorcycles were produced in various designs (classic, street model, motocross model, prototypes and competition models) in sometimes numerous variants. There was a division into different model generations. In 1961, for example, types 355 and 356 were replaced by types 453 and 450 (125/175 cm³) with increased engine power.
The (not only Czechoslovakian) racing drivers have won numerous successes with ČZ motorcycles in various international competitions (motocross, enduro races and others). At the International Six-Day Race , the following Czechoslovak drivers won the gold medal in the following years:
- 1952 Austria, Kohlíček and Pudil on ČZ 150
- 1954 Great Britain, B. Roučka and Pudil on ČZ 150
- 1956 FRG, B. Roučka, Pudil, Souček and Polánka on ČZ 150
- 1958 FRG, Polánka, B. Roučka and Pudil on ČZ 150 and ČZ 125
- 1959 Czechoslovakia, B. Roučka, Polánka and Pudil on ČZ 150 and ČZ 125
- 1962 FRG, Miarka, Polánka and B.Roučka on ČZ 150 and ČZ 125
ČZ 175
ČZ 250
ČZ 350
ČZ 500
Scooter Čezeta 502
.JPG)
See also
Remarks
- ↑ 1400 employees in the parent company, almost 600 in the subsidiaries (as of 2014).
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Basic company information: information on company activities , website of Česká zbrojovka Strakonice, online at: czas.cz/…100
- ↑ a b c Jaromír Vykoukal: Zbraně pro pěchotu první republiky 3rd díl. Kapitola třetí: Vybudování československého moderního zbrojního průmyslu (The Origin of Modern Czechoslovak Industry), online at: vojsko.net/…
- ↑ a b Historie společnosti , website of the company Česká zbrojovka Strakonice, online at czas.cz/… , German czas.cz/…/de
- ↑ History, proměny, programy , website of the company Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod, online at: czub.cz/cz/… ( Memento from December 22, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), German czub.cz/de/… ( Memento from 22 December 2015 in the Internet Archive ) . December 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Česká zbrojovka - zbraně pro celé dvacáté století , confession of the TV station Česká televize from February 1, 2012, online at ceskatelevize.cz/ct24/…
- ↑ a b Informace o značce , online at: motorkari.cz/motokatalog/…
- ^ Petr Lundák, ČTK: Pro čezetu přes půl republiky. Slavná značka parádních motorek slaví , news portal auto.idnes.cz, October 1, 2014, online at: auto.idnes.cz/…
- ^ Motorcycles Jawa CZ . In: Motor vehicle technology 4/1960, p. 141.
- ^ David Pazdera: První byla padesátka - 55 let pistolí z Uherského Brodu , in: Střelecká revue 1/2013, quoted. after reprint on the website of Česká zbrojovka (Uherský Brod), online at: czub.cz/… ( Memento from December 22, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Capital shares , website of Česká zbrojovka Strakonice, online at: czas.cz/…104
- ↑ ČZ 76 Kaktus (1932–1933) , online at: www.cezetmania.info/…/52
- ↑ Modely , portal ČEZETmania.info, online at: cezetmania.info/modely/…
- ↑ New types of motorcycles from Strakonice . In: Motor vehicle technology 05/1961, p. 201.
- ↑ Zlaté medaile v Šestidení , portal ČEZETmania.info, online at: www.cezetmania.info/…/49
