CZ Yearbook 2019 /eng

100 | | 101 most accurate “out of the box” 1911s with many user-f riendly innovations and a whole range of first-rate finely tuned parts of the best quality possible. Under the guardianship of CZ- USA, the range of Dan Wes- son pistols is constantly be- ing changed and upgraded, although some models have become firm fixtures, particu- larly the exceptionally popular Pointman line. ZBROJOVKA BRNO The former legendary arms gi- ant was formed in 1918 f rom the artillery workshops in Brno following the fall of the Austri- an-Hungarian Empire. Initially, it was a military repairs plant but within a decade, it had trans- formed into a state-of-the-art firearms factorywhoseproducts belonged amongst the abso- lute best in the world. The com- pany’s main domain was the serial production of bolt-action rifles using the Mauser system, with the vz. 24 model being the most popular, and the manu- facture of innovative automatic firearms, the first one being the ZB vz. 26 light machine gun. Be- sides other models, this model was further developed into the legendary Bren machine gun whose design subsequently served as the base for the devel- opment of heavy and large-cali- bremachine guns. Zbrojovka Brno became a key strategic par tner for local armed forces as well as one of the biggest global names on the market of service guns. In a bid to balance the pro- duction programme, it soon began to include non-military products, such as cars, ball bearings, bicycles, weighing scales, aircraft engines, ma- chine tools and typewriters. The company gradually grew into a large group of sepa- rate businesses dealing with associated or complementa- ry production, later it also in- cluded metallurgical, coal and ore-processing bases and ex- panded abroad. Before World War 2, Zbrojovka Brno was ba- sically a self-suff icient behe- moth, employing over 20,000 people and using more than 10,000 machining tools. Under German occupation, the company’s many works had to refocus on the manufacture of German f irearms and after World War 2, Zbrojovka Brno was nationalized. The lost out- put for the armed forces was compensated for by putting more focus on non-military production, primarily focus- ing on the serial production of new guns for hunting and sport shooting. Although the production of service firearms picked up again, it def inite- ly came to a stop in the late 1950s. A decision made by the authorities meant signif icant reduction in the manufacture of civilian firearms at Brno and in the 1960s most of this pro- duction line was transferred to the firearms factory in Uherský Brod, today’s Česká zbrojovka a.s. Because of this move, CZ has been able to carry on in the legacy of the famous BRNO firearms brand, known for their popular ZKM rimfire rifles, ZKW light rifles and the ZKK medi- um and magnumrifles. Subsequently, the Brno compa- ny’s firearms production was re- duced to break-action models only, with the share of firearms production falling precipitously until it was less than 3% of the to- tal factory outputs. Thus, the activ- ities of the former firearms giant focused chiefly on the production of typewriters, computer technol- ogy, diesel engines, tools etc. Nevertheless, following the events of 1989, it transpired that the design and production spirit of Brno Zbrojovka firearms was still safe and sound, having sur- vived those turbulent times. In fact, the f irearms division was the only viable part of the privat- ized Zbrojovka Brno a.s. At the beginning of the 21st century, the determination to keep and develop theBrnofirearms brand came under great strain when the joint-stockmother company faced bankruptcy. Thanks to the intervention of CZ, the healthy core of the Brno f irearms di- vision was saved and became the foundation of a new com- pany, BRNO RIFLES. The new- ly-emerged company underwent reorganization, relocated to the premises of the company’s for- mer school right next to themain factory, optimized its machinery and launched the production of completely new models that follow the current global trends for hunting and sport shooting firearms. Its current portfolio in- cludes the cutting-edge BRNO COMBO rifle/shotgun and most recently also the BRNO EXPRESS over/under rifle. Since 2010, this successor of the legendary Brno firearms indus- try bears the name ZBROJOVKA BRNO, s.r.o. Dan Wesson Firearms specialize in first-rate clones of the M1911A1 pistols BRNO COMPETITION – a popular over and under shotgun from Zbrojovka Brno, a subsidiary of Česká zbrojovka a.s. The unique know-how of Zbrojovka Brno is based on the combination of modern technologies and traditional gunsmithing practices