CZ-USA has had offices and a distribution operation in Kansas City for years. Yesterday they announced that they’ll build a new headquarters and manufacturing facility in Little Rock Arkansas, in vesting $90 million and creating almost 600 jobs.
From Arkansas Money and Politics . . .
During a press conference today at the state Capitol, Gov. Asa Hutchinson andĀ Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC)Ā Executive Director Mike Preston unveiled the Czech companyās plans to build its North American manufacturing base and to hire 565 people in Little Rock.
CZ-USA, which is a subsidiary company of Czech firearms manufacturer ÄeskĆ” zbrojovka a.s. UherskĆ½ Brod , is planning to build its manufacturing facility on 73 acres at the port. Hiring will take place in two phases, spread over six years. Wages for the new jobs are expected to start at $22 per hour.
According to Hutchinson, construction on the facility is set to begin immediately, and the facility is projected to be active by March 2020.
Here’s CZ’s press release . . .
LITTLE ROCK, AR) ā CZ-USA, the U.S.-based affiliate of Czech firearms manufacturer ÄeskĆ”Ā zbrojovka a.s. UherskĆ½ Brod (CZUB), announced today plans to locate their North American Headquarters and build a new manufacturing facility on approximately 73 acres at the Port of Little Rock. CZ-USA plans to implement a two-phase approach with an investment of up to $90 million and create some 565 jobs over a six-year period. CZ products are considered some of the highest-quality firearms in defense, competition and sport shooting around the world.
āAs CZ looked to increase our presence in North America, it engaged in a multi-state search for the ideal location,ā said Bogdan Heczko, CZ-USA chairman of the board. āThe Arkansas workforce, culture, business climate and industry support cleared the way for us to choose Little Rock as our new home.ā
In 2018, the Czech Republic imported some $2.6 million in commodities into Arkansas, and Arkansas exports to the country totaled roughly $8.2 million.Nearly 160 foreign-owned companies have some 300 operations in the state; however, CZ-USA is the first Czech company to have a presence in Arkansas.
āWe are honored to have a world-renowned brand such as CZ call Arkansas home,ā said Gov. Asa Hutchinson. āThe location in the growing Port of Little Rock, combined with the high-paying jobs created by the company, will improve the quality of life for all Arkansans.ā
Construction will begin immediately, with initial start-up planned for March 2020. Production at the Little Rock facility will commence in two, three-year phases.
āLittle Rock is open for business, and we could not be more thrilled to have CZ-USA at the Port of Little Rock,ā said Mayor Frank Scott Jr. āThis is the largest jobs announcement in Little Rock in more than a decade. Improving Little Rockās infrastructure is a top priority for me, which will ultimately lead to creating more good-paying jobs, of which this is a prime example.ā
Pulaski County Judge Barry Hyde said, āThis is a huge victory for Pulaski County and the region. The City of Little Rock has been working to expand the Port for a number of years, and Iām glad to see the fruits of that labor. Through a partnership with the City of Little Rock, the County is developing the infrastructure to accommodate the new development within the expanded Little Rock Port.ā
CZ-USA is currently seeking qualified applicants atĀ www.littlerockchamber.com/cz. Interested applicants may submit their contact information to CZ-USA to stay informed as new job opportunities become available. Additional questions regarding hiring can be emailed to CZ-USA atĀ [email protected]. Other project inquiries should be directed toĀ [email protected].
Nice!
So we won’t get to complain about “Turkish” shotguns anymore? There goes half the fun!
Yeah, well, if the one ones I want weren’t all made in Turkey, I’d have 3 right now.
I bought a Canik TP9v2 many years ago. I wasn’t paying attention to the COO at the time. I LOVE IT and it’s my EDC, but I won’t buy another until they open a plant in the US.
i see what you did there
“in vesting $90 million” those sound like expensive vests
The more, the merrier. š
Glad to have more quality arms made in my beloved home Arkansas. First Walther and now CZ.
I had been kind of hoping a free state ‘Gun Valley’ would pop up somewhere, so a local pool of skilled labor could be developed and exploited by all, but I suppose having them scattered far and wide has advantages as well. If a free state suddenly turns Leftist, we won’t have all our eggs in one basket suddenly behind enemy lines…
What about their operations in Kansas? As a Kansas resident I always thought it was cool to see “Kansas City, Kansas” on my Cz’s. Would be a bummer to see them go.
You can still scratch out the “Ar”
Mruu ha ha! The American civilian gun market continues to suck in international companies like a black hole! Soon we’ll be the only gunmakers left…and that’s when we strike!
Prepare yourself for the czech-made made CZ75 vs the American made cz75 thing at nauseam..Which one is better? People wanting the Czech only model versus the American model.. American-made cz teething or quality issues..and so for and so one…
I really hope they don’t start making their bolt action rifles or cz 75s in the states. The quality will plummet and will degrade the brand. They can make all the plastic guns and tactical whips they want here in the US, but please keep some things sacred cz!
No doubt Missouri’s recent over turning of our “Right To Work” law by public stupidity helped us loose out on 600 jobs….
I thought CZ was over in KCK on the Kansas side…
Not sure If I’m ready for this yet. We lost a lot of good men fighting communism and now we just let them on our shores to go after one of the last strongholds of American culture. I can see their interest in stealing our technology and marketing our labor skills as their own to promote their obscure image. I had a motor scooter made by them back in the 70’s. It was nothing special and the Japs seemed to put them out of that market right quickly. Also I heard they still hammer forge the rifling in their barrels. Kind of archaic isn’t it, beating a piece of metal with a hammer like a blacksmith. Where are they gonna get people to do that for them all day? This would never happen in Richard Nixon’s America, he kept the commies out.
“Not sure If Iām ready for this yet. We lost a lot of good men fighting communism…”
The Czecks weren’t commie by choice, they were enslaved by the Russians…
This. OP clearly hasn’t read anything about history . . . . or even fiction (strongly suggest “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” which takes place during the brutal suppression of the Czech people by the Russians.)
I know what your sayin’. I’m on the fence about that too. Maybe if Bruce Springsteen wrote a song about it I might be persuaded, being a voice for America and all. If it’s good enough for Bruce then its good enough for me.
The Czechs aren’t commies. I was in the Czech Republic when they were in the process of joining NATO. Great people who are technologically-adept, love gun rights, make excellent guns, and brew great beer. We should be encouraging more Czech joint ventures. Maybe start producing BREN 2 rifles and braced “pistols” in the US.
CZ-75s, P-10s, Scorpions, CZ-457s, and BREN 2s for everyone.
I think this is a joke. Actually I hope this is a joke.
Commies went out in Czechoslovakia in 1989. Btw they got to power there in 1948, so Czechoslovakia was under communist rule for 40 years and out of it for 30.
Jawa and CZ motorcycles were the top shelf – in fifties. By seventies they have dropped down into obsolescence because Russians ordered no development on them. “The motorcycle is fine, no more changes. We want to be able to use the same parts to fix them in 30 years!”
And cold hammer forging of barrels should not evoke a picture of burly guy at anvil swinging a sledge all day long.
https://youtu.be/oALJDh43K3I
As others have mentioned, the Czechs were (for the most part) unwilling Communists / Socialists. Note that they tried to become free in 1968, and the Soviet Socialists invaded and crushed the Czechs (as the USSR also did to the Hungarians in 1956).
ALSO note the book / pamphlet “And Not A Sot Is Fired” (PDF here https://robertwelchuniversity.org/Not%20a%20Shot.pdf).
Reading the Introduction alone is striking — the current efforts / tactics of the “Democratic Socialists” & Democrat Party in this country mirror those that the Communists used to takeover Czechoslovakia via elections.
Little Rock , why not Rogers? I’d like to buy a Red Ryder Cz lever action machine gunm
I would think you’d be partial to Possum Grape.
Weinner and Goober Town are also nice towns.
Without having to worry about import sporting purpose rules please make a single stack baby RAMI in P238/P938 size.
I smell an employment change for me!!
I like CZ guns and buy them whenever I can afford the next one but look out. Look what happened to Walther when they tried to let Smith & Wesson make the Walther PPk/s they trashed it. Look what happened when they started making Sig’s in the U.S. The workmanship was trashed because they used minimum wage slave labor that had little or no training. Not the workers fault but the company’s fault when they cut corners so the C.E.O.’s could get multi mullion dollar salaries by hogging up all the profits and giving back zero to the workers. Buy your Euro CZ pistols and shotguns now because soon all you will have to buy is American Made Junk. History has proven it already.
Yep. Sad but true. We also saw problems with USA Glocks and Berettas. Just not the same. Only company I’ve ever seen that been able to pull it off has been FN. They manufacture all over the world and most of the quality is solid (but still not up to Liege standards).
Minimum wage slave labor is an oxymoron. Slaves don’t earn wages. Let’s not be so dramatic.
Great! I have been wondering why the CZ-USA doesn’t have any production facilities in the United States except for Dan Wesson.
Maybe Trump’s imports tariffs have something to do with it?
CZ should look at a topological map of this location. Google Maps satellite view reveals that it is on the edge of a massive 3.5 x 5.5 mile flood plain. It’s plain as day when you’re zoomed out. Wow. No doubt this location was ultra cheap. Maybe it only floods every 5-10 years but what happens when the flood comes and ruins it all?
I really want to see CZ succeed but this looks like a disastrous plan for a flagship headquarters.
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