Sellier & Bellot acquired by CBC
The 180 year old Czech ammunition manufacturer Sellier & Bellot has been acquired by Brazilian firm CBC. CBC also own Magtech Ammunition and Metallwerk Elisenhütte.
From the press release
We are pleased to announce that CBC has acquired Sellier & Bellot, an industry leader of quality ammunition since 1825. Acquiring Sellier & Bellot’s proven brand with over 184 years of history will complement our existing product lines and enable us to further expand our global presence in the ammunition industry. Sellier & Bellot fits perfectly within our philosophy of investing in leading, high- quality, highly recognized brands which complement our existing portfolio of branded ammunition product companies
The full press release can be read at Gun Holsters and Gear.
I am not sure I like the conglomeration of the consumer firearm and ammo manufacturers worldwide.
“Sellier & Bellot, an industry leader of quality ammunition”
Ha!
S&B ammunition could be described in many ways. “Quality” is not really one of them.
Company A buying up companies B and C is not the problem.
Chances are A can afford to buy other companies because they have a lot of money. And they have a lot of money presumably because they sell a lot of products. And this is probably because their products are good. So this means that a good company expands, increasing the scale, bringing prices down.
The problem is that companies X, Y and Z are never started, so A can get some decent competition from people with fresh ideas. This is because of too much taxes and regulation.
I’ve done fine with S&B. As long as they can keep making .303 British.
I’ve never had an issue with S&B’s rifle and semiauto pistol ammo.
The revolver ammo now… there are some issues, mostly in component selection. If I had any sitting around, I’d almost bet that the .38spl and .357mag FMJ they load is a .355 projectile. Granted, the last of it I shot was well over a year ago, I don’t know if the situation’s changed….
This is ironic for me, because I am developing a cartridge for company K. We asked company Q to make us the brass, they said they could, but not for 2.5 Years. Back orders, you see. I asked Magtech, who’s owned by CBC, who said very little other than “We’re operating at 110% capacity at the factory and won’t be able to do it.” So, I get help from company H, who sources their brass from S&B, who will now be owned by CBC.
Matt Groom,
Doesn’t seem so ironic to me. If CBC runs at 110% capacity for long enough, they’ll either have to expand somehow or face losing the opportunity given by the market. The beancounters will look at a couple of options, likely including expanding the existing line, building a new factory, or “going outside”. If infrastructure concerns means the existing factory couldn’t get enough materials/water/power if expanded, or local codes and laws didn’t allow it or made it too expensive, and the new factory was going to be a nightmare given that it’s a munitions factory and all the BS the government applies to those shops, the option is natural… look around for a way to get factories that are already established and expand that way. S&B probably just happened to be on the market at that time, the price was right, viola, CBC buys S&B. No irony whatsoever…. in fact, that CBC said they were at 110% makes this purchase into something completely sensible.
For those that think that “Sellier & Bellot, an industry leader of quality ammunition” is a bit of a misleading statement remember- “poor” is a type of quality.
It’s like saying “I’m in shape. Round is a shape.”
or “If it weren’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have any luck at all.”
It will be interesting to see if anything changes, for better or worse.