Nearly 200 years ago Louis Sellier and Jean Bellot founded a small ammunition company in Prague, Czechoslovakia, that would become Sellier & Bellot. The year was 1825, and the company quickly flourished. Orders grew as word of the quality spread and 12 years later the factory churned out more than 150 million percussion caps to meet demand.
Cartridge production didn’t begin until 1870. Two years later, when Jean Bellot left the company, Sellier’s heirs took over ownership.
Sellier & Bellot’s growth didn’t slow after that change, though. It later opened a plant in Latvia and during World War I demand for its pistol ammo was heavy. After “The Great War” the company became the primary ammunition supplier for Czechoslovakia’s military.
In 1929 the firm opened another plant in Prussia. In 1936 the company’s main factory moved to Vlašim, Czechoslovakia—now the Czech Republic—where it remains
After World War II and borders between the West and East were established, the company wound up behind the Iron Curtain. In 1945 the government took full control and ownership of the firm.
When communist control receded from what is now the Czech Republic, the company returned to private ownership was returned. In this case it was stock based, with employees granted a solid share.
CBC Global acquired the company in 2009. Then in December of 2023 Colt CZ Group took ownership of a fabled firm.