Ammo & Acquisitions: Who is the Czechoslovak Group (CSG)?

In 1995, Czech entrepreneur Jaroslav Strnad founded Excalibur Army, a business focused on the procurement, refurbishment, and resale of Soviet armored vehicles including T-55 and T-72 tanks. Not unlike our Bruce Hodgdon in cartridge powders or Springfield Armory founder Robert Reese for firearms, Strnad saw the potential commercial value of government scrap and military surplus. Of course, his primary customers were government entities, not civilian consumers, and his supplies came from Cold War buildups rather than World War-era stockpiles.

Exalibur Army found success domestically and with international customers. As the company grew, so did the size and scope of Strnad’s business. Key defense industry acquisitions bolstered existing operations while investment in aerospace, automotive, railway, and radar firms offered new synergies and diversified the organization’s holdings. In 2016, the burgeoning Excalibur Group was reformed as the Czechoslovak Group (CSG), and, in 2018, Jaroslav entrusted the leadership of CSG to his son, Michal Strnad.

Under Michal’s direction, CSG expanded. The group includes more than 100 companies and a workforce of approximately 10,000. Reported revenues for 2022 were nearly $1.5 billion. A truly international organization, CSG does business in 70 countries and operates manufacturing facilities in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, India, and the United States.

In March 2024, I joined CSG representatives and a handful of international journalists on tour through a variety of the company’s Czech-based operations. In Prague, we visited the showroom of luxury watchmaker Prim. Like Italian shotgun maker Perazzi, acquired by CSG in 2023, Prim is a prestige business that lends credibility to the organization, and diversifies its portfolio. Travelling to Pardubice, we visited Retia, a radar and communication technology company. The company’s capabilities range from large-scale upgrades of existing equipment to sophisticated man-portable radar solutions — they even have a handheld unit that sees through walls and is already in use with some U.S. law enforcement agencies.

In Ostrava, we toured the Job Air Technic hangars where commercial airliners from Boeing and Airbus receive maintenance and repairs. Heading south to Koprivnice, we visited Tatra Trucks, one of the world’s oldest automobile makers. Renowned today for their durability, unique chassis system, half-axles, and independent wheel suspension, Tatra specializes in mission-specific heavy-duty trucks. Those trucks are also well suited for military applications as we saw at Tatra Defense, including as a basis for highly mobile, self-propelled artillery.

We ended our tour where it all started for CSG, at Excalibur Army’s armor refurbishing facility. There we saw tanks in several phases of rebuild, from fully disassembled to completely refit and equipped for service. Armored personnel carriers were also being worked on, including U.S. M113s right beside Russian-made BMPs. I was told that as old Soviet armor stocks dry up, Excalibur is expanding its operations to include vehicles of Western origin.

The range of businesses was impressive, and it was interesting to see how many of the companies work together to their mutual benefit. An Excalibur Army command vehicle built on a Tatra chassis and equipped with Retia communications and tracking equipment is one example, but even Prim has roots in military manufacture and still makes tactical watches.

During the tour, my continental counterparts were keen to ask questions about the types and quantities of CSG-manufactured vehicles, munitions, and materiel being sent to the Ukrainian military. No specifics were given, but my impression is most of its defense sales have been to customers desiring to curb Russian aggression. My primary interest, though, was to better understand CSG’s growing presence in American ammunition manufacturing.

In 2022, CSG acquired Italian ammo maker Fiocchi, including its U.S. subsidiary and the ammunition and primer facilities in Missouri and Arkansas. The company now plans to purchase Vista Outdoor’s  The Kinetic Group, which includes all the ammunition businesses: Federal, Remington, CCI, Speer, Alliant Powder, Hevi-Shot, and Estate Cartridge Company. The purchase is valued at nearly $2 billion and would make a foreign conglomerate the largest small arms ammunition manufacturer in the United States. The CSG-Vista deal has faced pushback from competitive investment groups and some U.S. politicians who have raised strategic concerns, but the acquisition is anticipated to be completed in 2024.

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Due to CSG’s relative ambiguity, my goal in Europe was to learn about its businesses and get to know its people. That started with David Štěpán, a CSG director and head of the company’s Ammo+ division, which includes Fiocchi. Ammo+ would take on the Kinetic Group business, as well.

CSG is led by a sharp group of businesspeople. These aren’t foreign activists working to control America’s ammunition supply. It’s far simpler than that. CSG is primarily a defense company, with 60 percent of its business tied to government and military contracts. Comparatively, the Kinetic Group has around 80 percent exposure to the consumer market. For CSG, the acquisition is a “two birds, one stone” proposition that would better diversify revenue sources and bolster existing initiatives with added ammunition capacity.

According to Štěpán, U.S.-based businesses and consumers would benefit, too. The goal of the acquisition is to grow consumer sales, so winning over American hunters and shooters is integral to CSG’s success. There are no plans to move manufacturing operations, rather, there are long-term investment plans to grow the stateside businesses just as CSG has done with its European operations.

The incorporation of American leaders is also notable. During my trip, Paul Lemke was named CEO of CSG-USA, and will oversee the expansion of CSG’s defense and security, industrial manufacturing, and aerospace businesses. A retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel, Lemke has also held significant roles in the outdoor recreation market as CEO of Norma Precision Inc., and founder and CEO of PolyCase Ammunition. He’ll leverage his political and military acumen along with his business experience in the new role.

Lemke joins another seasoned leader in David Blenker, president and CEO of Fiocchi of America. Joining Fiocchi in 2023, Blenker previously spent nearly 30 years with the U.S. arm of Brazilian firearm maker Taurus in the roles of CFO and CEO. Blenker’s responsibilities include not only overseeing Fiocchi’s manufacturing operations, but also establishing a stateside foothold for other premium ammunition brands, such as Baschieri & Pellagri. Blenker is a passionate shooter, avid hunter, and has a long history of working with international manufacturers to meet the needs of the U.S. outdoor market.

The entrance of the Czechoslovak Group into the American shooting and hunting market could be described as “disruptive,” but it might be a disruption the industry needs. During the past few years, outdoor “super groups” have been assembled, only to have their parts dismantled and set adrift. I’m not keen to see Federal go the way of Remington Outdoor Company, nor Remington repeat its recent troubles. An entrepreneurial spirit paired with an invest-and-hold approach has allowed CSG to continue expanding its portfolio of defense, ammo, mobility, and aerospace operations, as well its catalog of prestige- and innovation-based ventures. With stateside leaders who understand America’s sporting culture, CSG is poised to become a major player in the commercial ammunition market.