Sellier & Bellot
| Sellier & Bellot as
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|---|---|
 |
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| legal form | Akciová společnost |
| founding | 1825 |
| Seat |
Vlašim , Czech Republic
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| Number of employees | ~ 1500 |
| Branch | Ammunition manufacturer |
| Website | www.sellier-bellot.cz |
Sellier & Bellot is a traditional Czech ammunition manufacturer with almost 200 years of history, which has been part of the Brazilian CBC group since 2009 .
history
The history of the company is linked to the history of the development of the primer caps and the company founders Pierre Daniel Louis Sellier and Jean Maria Nicolas Bellot . Sellier left France in 1809 and acquired knowledge of international trade under the name Dell in Hamburg and St. Petersburg . In 1813 he and Barthélemy Sellier (relatives) took over the Rosenkranz company in Leipzig and subsequently named it Sellier & Comp. The company traded in high-quality glass and metal goods as well as hunting weapons and accessories. From 1819 Nicolas Bellot studied and researched chlorate and mercury fulminates in Paris with Julien Leroie , who was in charge of the further development of the work started by Bertholet on explosives in the 1780s . In 1820, series production of primers began in France, England, Prussia and North America. Bellot was partly ascribed to the invention of the primer, but this is controversial because of several, almost simultaneous, developments. On August 20, 1823, Bellot and his partner Daguien received an official license to manufacture primers in Paris and were also a silent partner in the Paris company Tardy & Blancher , which also successfully manufactured primers. Sellier traded primers and noticed that a lucrative line of business was emerging in trading and manufacturing them. For a short time he tried to occupy the Austrian market and started production in the former monastery of Zbraslav (Prague) in cooperation with the A. Richter chemical factory . Difficulties arose that could only be overcome with Bellot's expertise. In August 1825, Sellier and Bellot agreed a partnership and the establishment of a joint company with production facilities in the former Parukářka winery , which was in a suburb of Prague. At first there were still difficulties with the official permits because the authorities had concerns about the mercury compounds and because of the immigration law in Prague at the time, there were problems with the property rights of the French. These problems were finally resolved only in 1828, when Bellot acquired Austrian citizenship.
The Sellier & Bellot primers have been widely recognized by the public and private users as a major step forward. The company received massive support, especially from the public, because it corresponded not only to economic interests but also to the interests of the Austro-Hungarian and Prussian military. A primer factory was set up in 1829 in Schönebeck , which was then Prussian . In 1835 Sellier & Bellot reached an annual production of around 150 million primers. The company registered numerous patents for ammunition and operated in the 20th century until the Second World War as “Primer and cartridge factory vorm. Sellier & Bellot, Prague ” . The dangers of production and the considerable consumption of raw materials (84 tons of copper and 1212 kilograms of mercury annually ) were considered at the time. The dangers in the factory were known and, despite all caution, led to fatal accidents. Nikolaus Bellot lost both eyes in an accident and was then only able to take part in the management of the company to a limited extent. In addition to the manufacture of primers, around 52 million brass eyelets and hooks were made for use on clothing in the 1850s.
After the company was successful with primers, the production of cartridges began in 1870. From 1884 onwards there was also production in Riga . The Sellier & Bellot trademark was registered in Prague in 1893 and hunting cartridges were manufactured from 1885. During the First World War , the company's production was massively expanded in order to be able to supply the quantities of ammunition required by the military. With this upswing, the company also became globally relevant as an ammunition supplier. With the introduction of silver azide detonators, a new business area was opened. In 1936 part of the production was relocated to a new factory in Vlašim .
During the Second World War, production to supply the German armed forces was further expanded. 40 types of rifle ammunition, 10 types of pistol ammunition, 20 types of revolver ammunition and all types of shotgun ammunition were produced. 70% of the production was exported. At the end of 1944 about 7,000 workers were employed.
After the war, the company was nationalized by Czechoslovakia . In the years 1991–1992 the transformation from a state enterprise into a stock corporation took place . In 2009 Sellier & Bellot became a member of the CBC group. Sellier & Bellot continues to supply the armed forces of the Czech Republic to this day . The company runs a museum in Vlašim Castle .
The German production facility in Schönebeck became the VEB Sprengstoffwerk Schönebeck. After the fall of the Wall, the company was renamed SK Jagd- und Sportmunition , the factory was taken over by Lapua in 1992, today it belongs to Nammo .
In 2016 the company Sellier & Bellot joined the local soccer club FC Graffin Vlašim, which was then renamed FC Sellier & Bellot Vlašim .
Awards
- Gold medal for industrial products at the exhibition of 1829 (and several other awards).
literature
- Allgemeine Handlungs-Zeitung: with the latest inventions and improvements in factories and in urban and rural management, Volume 38, Nuremberg, June 22nd, 1831, p. 317. ( digitized online )
- Allgemeiner Anzeiger der Deutschen, Volume 76 / Volume 2 1828 Verlag, Becker, Gotha 1828
- Johann Gottfried Digler: Polytechnisches Journal , Volume 33, JG Gotta, 1829, pp. 37-38. ( Googlebooks online )
- Robert E. Walker: Cartridges and Firearm Identification , CRC Press, 2013, ISBN 978-1-4665-8881-3 . ( Partial preview of Googlebooks )
- Carl Hartmann: Journal for pyrotechnicians of all kinds: as fireworkers, powder millers, engineers, saltpeter and sulfur workers , Volume 2, manufacturer of the latest lighters and primers, Verlag Voigt, Weimar, 1851.
Web links
- Schönebeck Industrial Museum: Sellier & Bellot
- Andreas Zierau: The Sellier and Bellot primer factory (company history in Schönebeck) at fahrradfreund-sbk.de
- WM-Intern: Company history in Schönebeck Lapua - a company history
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Radio Praha International: Life with Risk: Explosions in factories not an isolated case in the Czech Republic , accessed on October 4, 2019
- ↑ a b Company history Sellier & Bellot official website (Engl.) ( Memento of 9 October 2019 Internet Archive ), accessed on 9 October of 2019.
- ↑ a b c Company history Sellier & Bellot official website (Engl.) ( Memento of 23 May 2005 at the Internet Archive ), accessed on 6 October of 2019.
- ↑ Allgemeine Handlungs-Zeitung, article: The prager primers , June 22, 1831, accessed on October 6, 2019. ( digital copy online )
- ↑ Becker: About percussion rifles , safety devices and primers , in Allgemeine Anzeiger der Deutschen, Volume 2, pp. 2259-2561 ( online Googlebooks ), accessed on October 6, 2019.
- ↑ Polytechnisches Journal, Article: About Percussion Guns , Volume 33, 1829, p. 37 f., Accessed on October 6, 2019 ( Googlebooks online )
- ↑ European Patent Office : Patent Information , accessed on October 5, 2019.
- ^ Carl Hartmann: Zeitschrift für Pyrotechniker , 2nd volume, 1851, pp. 21-23. ( Googlebooks online ), accessed October 6, 2019.
- ^ Nammo AS - Schönebeck. www.nammo.com, accessed October 7, 2019 .
- ↑ Christoph Richter: Lapua company in Saxony-Anhalt, popular ammunition from Schönebeck , in Deutschlandfunk Kultur, accessed on October 5, 2019.
- ↑ Public announcement of the kuk Landesguberntum: "Report of the Evaluation Commission on the public exhibition of industrial products of Bohemia that took place in 1829 under the direction of the Bohemian kk Landesgubernium" , Prague, Verlag Gottlieb Haase & Sons, 1831. (online at archive.org) , accessed October 6, 2019.