Mass production of ammunition for Ukraine, and soon unmanned aerial vehicles – production facilities in Serbia play an important role in the business empire of the young Czech arms manufacturer Mihala Strnadawrites the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ).
“Only a year and a half ago, the departments of the Czechoslovak Group (CSG) moved into the new headquarters in Prague,” says FAZ.
“However, the rectangular eight-story building of red brick and glass, with regular rows of twelve windows each, is already bursting at the seams. That’s how fast the empire of the 33-year-old weapons and technology manufacturer Strnad, one of the richest men in the Czech Republic, is growing.”
The text emphasizes that CSG is continuously expanding production and taking over new companies. Today, its branches exist in the United States of America, Germany, Ukraine, but also in Serbia, writes Deutsche Welle.
In November, CSG bought a 51 percent stake in the Belgrade-based company MUST Solutions, which produces aircraft engines. It was announced that this company will work for the military industry, while Serbia should also become a center for the development of unmanned systems. CSG is also the owner of the “14 October” ammunition factory in Kruševac.
According to FAZ, in the first three quarters of this year, the Czech company almost doubled its turnover, reaching 4.5 billion euros.
“Strnad, married and the father of two children, is the largest manufacturer of small-caliber ammunition in the Western world, and one of the leading manufacturers of artillery ammunition. Without his business, the European Union’s initiative to supply ammunition to Ukraine would hardly have been this successful,” the newspaper writes.
In addition to ammunition, CSG also produces armored vehicles, howitzers and radars, and now it is turning more and more – to the sky. FAZ writes specifically about the branch of the Avianera company, which also includes the Belgrade company.
According to Strnad, its goal is to become “a significant factor in the field of military drones and advanced weapon systems.”
Pavel Čehál, who heads the Avianer branch, told FAZ that the everyday life of war in Ukraine shows the “rapidly growing and enormous potential of unmanned aerial vehicles.”
The newspaper states that CSG already owns electronics for controlling aircraft, as well as missiles, but that its entry into the field of engine production began precisely with the purchase of a company in Belgrade.
According to FAZ, Čehál is not afraid of a possible drop in demand in the event of a ceasefire in Ukraine, pointing out that drones are becoming increasingly important in both the military and civilian sectors. “We will be able to deliver successful and unique products at an acceptable price, with sufficient production capacity,” he says.
It flourished after the Russian aggression
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung also describes the business journey of Mihal Strnad, who took over the company from his father as a young man. The father was mainly engaged in the purchase of military equipment from the Soviet period, its modernization and resale, while the younger Strnad raised that business to a much higher level.
“The largest arms manufacturer in Central Europe especially flourished after the Russian attack on Ukraine – it serviced old Russian tanks and supplied howitzers, armored vehicles and ammunition,” the newspaper said.
Explosives and ammunition are produced in CSG facilities in Slovakia, Spain, Greece and Serbia, while production capacities in the USA are in the preparation phase.
Strnad is also said to have shares in the luxurious Four Seasons hotel in Prague, near the Charles Bridge, to be the owner of the soccer club Viktorija Plzen, financier of the Czech Olympic team, and to run several humanitarian foundations.
His wealth is estimated at more than ten billion euros.
(Vijesti.ba)
