Česká zbrojovka a.s. (ČZ a.s.) is a Czech company producingcs:Desta forklifts and components for the automobile industry. It is a formerfirearms manufacturer, also known for making ČZmotorcycles. ČZ was established as a branch of theŠkoda armament works inStrakonice,Czechoslovakia in September 1919.[1]
Work started on the construction of the first workshops of the arms factory originally calledJihočeská zbrojovka ("South Bohemian Armament Works"). The company merged with an arms manufacturing plant inVejprty and with a factory inPrague in 1922.[1] This gave rise to the formation of astock company whose name translates as "Czech Armament Works in Prague of the Manufacturing Plant in Strakonice".[1] It producedpistols,air guns, andautomatic guns which all became successful products.
In 1929, the growth of the Czech Armament Works reached a turning point. With the downturn in weapons sales afterWorld War I, the company acquired abicycle parts manufacturing plant inKralupy nad Vltavou on theVltava River.[1] Bicycle exports destined for several countries inEurope,Asia,Africa andSouth America started to expand.[1] Production of motor-driven bicycles started in 1932.[1] Three years later, the first motorcycles made in Strakonice entered the market.[1] This marked the beginning of an era of great success for the ČZ brand. In a short time, the company became the biggest manufacturer of motorcycles in Czechoslovakia.[1] Consequently, business success resulted in a further extension of production activities by introducing chain and machine tool production.[1] In theSecond World War the factory came underGerman occupation and was converted to the manufacture of war materials.[1]
Like most large industrial enterprises, this stock company was nationalized in 1946.[1] Due to the post-war political situation,firearms production in the Strakonice plant was ended.[1]
The company changed after the motorcycle brand went out of production in the 1990s and started focusing on manufacturing car components, liketurbochargers, besides its traditional production of chains, tools, moulds, castings, and machine tools. Since 1999,cs:Desta forklifts have been manufactured in ČZ Strakonice.[2]
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Motorcycle development and production, as well as competition victories in the 1950s and 1960s, enabled the ČZ brand to be among the world's most successful makers of competition and street motorcycles. After World War II, ČZ was the second-largest motorcycle manufacturer in Europe. It was in this period that the company experienced its greatest racing successes. It began competing in the 250 cc and 350 cc classes ofGrand Prixmotorcycleroad racing. These bikes, although technically refined, were rarely very competitive with bikes from the powerful Italian factories such asMV Agusta,Gilera andMondial.
TheČZ 501 Čezeta (1957) scooter design has become iconic throughoutEastern Europe,Russia,Vietnam andCuba. Čezeta thus becameVespa of these Republics.
The ČZ factory recorded an historic victory in the1963 FIM Motocross World Championship when factory rider Vlastimil Valek rode a 263cc ČZ motorcycle to win the first moto of the 500cc Czechoslovakian Motocross Grand Prix.[3] His victory marked the first time that a two-stroke powered motorcycle had won the premier division of the Motocross World Championships.[3]
In the1969, ČZ made the technically advanced "Type-860" GP model with a 350 ccV4 engine, developed by the engineer František Pudil. This advanced bike, with dual overheadcamshaft, 16 valves, 8-speed gearbox,Ceriani forks andDell'Orto SSIcarburetors, produced 63 horsepower (47 kW) at 16,000 rpm with a maximum speed of 240 km/h. The V-4 achieved several good results: the best being in1971, at theCzechoslovakian Grand Prix whenBohumil Stasa finished second behindJarno Saarinen on his 350 ccYamaha. In1972, the bike almost won the Austrian Grand Prix. With just a few laps to go in the race, the ČZ was leadingGiacomo Agostini'sMV Agusta when it had to retire with mechanical problems. In 1972, ČZ abandoned Grand Prix road racing competitions to concentrate its efforts onmotocross, a less expensive form of competition.
ČZ proved to be much more successful with motocross and became well known for its powerfultwo-strokeoff-road motorcycles.[4][5][6] They were the first company to useexpansion chambers in their exhaust pipes.[citation needed] In the 1960s, they became the dominant force in off-road competition, winning seven Grand PrixmotocrossWorld Championships and dominating theInternational Six Day Trial.[4][5][6][7]
By the 1970s, with the advent of inexpensive and technically advanced Japanese motorcycles, ČZ lost an increasing share of the motorcycle market. Ironically, many of the innovations successfully pioneered by ČZ were copied by the Japanese factories. In 1993, the motorcycle branch of ČZ was bought by the Italian motorcycle manufacturerCagiva, who intended to use the Czech factories to build their own brand of motorcycles as well as new ČZ andJawa models. The venture failed in 1997 due to Cagiva's financial difficulties, and the ČZ motorcycle brand went out of production.
Since 2018, the companyČezeta Motors is producing electric scootersČezeta 506.[8]
Battles between Hallman and Robert quickly became legend, but the most significant moment in the decade of the 1960s came when ČZ factory rider Vlastimil Valek rode a bike with a bored-out 250cc two stroke single and beat a full field of top-class, 500cc four stroke bikes to win the 1963 Czechoslovakian Grand Prix.
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