Czech President Petr Pavel visits CZ

Matthew Moss
by Matthew Moss
Czech President Petr Pavel visits CZ (CZ)

The Czech Republic’s President Petr Pavel visited CZ’s factory in Uhersky Brod. The president formerly served 39 years in the Czech army and was previously the Chief of the General Staff. He was shown around the factory by CZ’s CEO Jan Zajic who showed Pavel CZ’s range of small arms including the new limited edition CZ Bren 2 which commemorates Czechia’s 25 years of NATO membership.

Czech President Petr Pavel visits CZ (CZ)

Here’s CZ’s press release about the visit in full:

The President of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, visited the CZ factory in Uhersky Brod as part of his two-day visit to the Zlin region of the country. The Head of State was welcomed by Jan Zajic, CEO of CZ and Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Upon his arrival, Jan Zajic introduced President Pavel to CZ, which is one of the main pillars of the international Colt CZ Group. CZ, which will have its 90th anniversary in two years, is one of the largest employers in the Zlin region. Its products are exported to more than ninety countries around the world.

CZ products are utilized by the Czech Army, Police of the Czech Republic, Customs Administration, Prison Service and other customers from the armed forces. “Almost half of CZ’s production not only goes to the Czech Armed Forces, but also to other armed forces around the world,” said Jan Zajic.

The President was interested in additional, upcoming acquisitions that will further expand Colt CZ Group. He appreciates the thoughtful interconnection of various fields, which allows for synergy and the ability to effectively meet a wide range of needs, including firearms, ammunition, ballistic protection and others. He stressed the importance of not only high-quality products but also competitive prices.

CZ BREN 2 Ms – NATO Limited Edition

Another item on his agenda was a tour of CZ’s showroom, where the CEO presented the CZ portfolio to the President, including a new limited edition of the CZ BREN 2 Ms semi-automatic rifle that CZ prepared for the 25th anniversary of the Czech Republic’s accession to NATO. Only twenty-five pieces of this special edition will be produced. One of them will be given to a charity auction, where the proceeds will be donated to the Military Solidarity Fund and the Police and Firefighters Foundation.

President Petr Pavel, accompanied by Jan Zajic, visited a production area for firearm components, where he also briefly met with CZ employees. He was interested in annual investments made in the company and appreciated its high-tech equipment and long-term success.

At the end of their time together, Jan Zajic thanked Czech President Petr Pavel for his visit: “I consider the visit of President Petr Pavel an expression of support not only for CZ, but also for the domestic defense and security industry, which has an excellent reputation abroad,” said Jan Zajic.

Czech President Petr Pavel visits CZ (CZ)
Matthew Moss
Matthew Moss

Managing Editor: TheFirearmBlog.com & Overt Defense.com. Matt is a British historian specialising in small arms development and military history. He has written several books and for a variety of publications in both the US and UK. Matt is also runs The Armourer's Bench, a video series on historically significant small arms. Here on TFB he covers product and current military small arms news. Reach Matt at: matt@thefirearmblog.com

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 19 comments
  • John John on Apr 18, 2024

    Sad, Pavel is a traitor to his nation. Hopefully the part of Czechslovakia noone cares about gets some good leadership like Slovakia has soon.

    • See 17 previous
    • IOJ IOJ on Apr 23, 2024

      @Andy When I wrote my comment, I actually pondered whether I should just call you an authoritarian or a fascist. Fascist sounded better. And it's quite rich to complain about being labeled when you labeled hundreds of thousands yourself.

      By the way, I'm not your dude, sir.

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