Sellier & Bellot

Sellier & Bellot is a firearms ammunition manufacturer situated in Vlašim, Czech Republic. It is a subsidiary of the Czech company Colt CZ Group. It has been manufacturing products bearing its trademark uninterrupted since 1825, making it one of the oldest engineering companies in the Czech Republic.

History
Sellier & Bellot was founded on August 5, 1825 by a German businessman of French origins called Louis Sellier. His family had been royalists who had fled France during the French Revolution. Louis Sellier began manufacturing percussion caps for infantry firearms in a factory in Prague, Bohemia on the request of Francis I, the Emperor of Austria. Sellier was soon joined by his countryman Jean Maria Nicolaus Bellot, who led the company to quickly gain momentum.

Sellier & Bellot products soon established themselves on both European and overseas markets. As early as 1830 the manufacture of percussion caps was in excess of 60 million and peaked later in 1837 at the enormous quantity of 156 million caps.

A subsidiary plant in Schönebeck (Prussia) was founded in 1929. In 1870, a cartridge production started. Together with Flobert's rimfire and Lefaucheux's pin-primer cartridges, the first centrefire cartridges appear in the production program. In just a few years, the annual output grows to 10 million cartridges. Louis Sellier died and his heirs acquired his share.

In 1872, the heirs of Louis Sellier convinced Jean Bellot to give up management of the company and sell it to them. The factory brought in the Czech entrepreneur Martin Hála, who transformed the company into a joint-stock company (a.s.; AG).

Another subsidiary plant was established in Riga, Latvia (then part of Russia) in 1884 to cover the demand for percussion caps in the whole of Russia and Scandinavia. The first trademark of Sellier & Bellot was listed in Prague in 1893. In 1895, hunting cartridge cases and hunting cartridges were brought into the production program. This program was extended by copper primers for blasting works and ammunition manufacture in Škoda Pilsen.

During World War I, the production of commercial ammunition was curbed and total capacity was dedicated to manufacture rifle and handgun cartridges for the army. The Steyr 9 mm cartridge was developed and introduced to serial production during this period. After the independent state of Czechoslovakia was founded in October 1918, the company became the dominant supplier of handgun ammunition for the Czechoslovak Army and police. The production of commercial ammunition for competition shooting and hunting purposes was further extended. The company expanded into the Asian and South American markets. Based on the invention of its managing director František Blechta, the company became the only manufacturer of silver azide in the world. Owing to this, the production of industrial detonators increased significantly.

In 1936, the company's moved from Prague to Vlašim.

In 1945, Sellier & Bellot was nationalized as part of the new Czechoslovak government's introduction of a state monopoly for the manufacture of both military and commercial ammunition. The range of commercial ammunition was extended to forty rifle caliber types, ten pistol and twenty revolver types. Shot shell manufacture ranges from .410 caliber to 12 gauge. Total output increased fivefold. Approximately 70% of the output was for export. Original 7.62×45, 7.62×39 and 7.62×54R cartridges were introduced into production to meet the demand of the Czechoslovak Army.

The company started to produce antifriction bearings in 1964. In 1965, the production of packaging machines, now concentrated in the subsidiary company Sellier & Bellot, stroje Ltd. began. The manufacture of cartridges according to valid C.I.P. standards began in 1972.

In 1992, the state-owned company was transformed into a joint-stock company – Sellier & Bellot a.s. (JSC). The company's shareholders were Czech natural and legal persons; a part of the equity was held by the company's employees. Almost 70% of production volume was exported through its subsidiary Sellier & Bellot Trade a.s. to over seventy countries.

In 1998, the company was granted the ISO 9001 certification.

In 2009, Sellier & Bellot was acquired by CBC of Brazil.

In 2023, Sellier & Bellot was acquired by Colt CZ.

Prizes

 * 1999: Bronze medal in Deutsches Waffen Journal readers' vote in the category of Ammunition.