The Beginnings of CSG and Michal’s Arrival

The first steps leading to the creation of this large and prosperous group were taken by Jaroslav Strnad, Michal’s father, who founded EXCALIBUR ARMY in 1995. It was EXCALIBUR ARMY that became the basis for the later formation of the CZECHOSLOVAK GROUP holding; the company still exists today and is a leading European manufacturer of specialized land equipment for the military, police, and emergency services.

Michal Strnad joined his father’s company in 2011 and gradually held various managerial positions within the expanding holding. In 2013 he became CEO of the emerging group, in 2015 Chairman of the Board of Directors of CZECHOSLOVAK GROUP, and in 2018 its direct owner after his father transferred the ownership to him. Thanks to Michal’s leadership, CZECHOSLOVAK GROUP became a mature corporation with strong management and well-developed processes, while retaining the flexibility and performance of the family business it was at the beginning.

CSG Growth in the Czech Republic and Orientation to the West

A major milestone in the holding’s history was the acquisition of a majority stake in TATRA TRUCKS in 2013. Tatra is a globally important manufacturer of specialized off-road vehicles with a tradition dating back to 1850. Although Tatra was in very poor condition at the time of takeover, the shareholders and their managers succeeded in returning the company to profit in the very first year after the acquisition. TATRA TRUCKS became one of the group’s best-performing companies with a world-renowned brand.

Under Michal’s leadership, the group gradually expanded into other fields: it acquired ELDIS and RETIA, Czech radar manufacturers, thereby entering the aerospace sector. From scratch, it founded TATRA DEFENCE VEHICLE (TDV) in 2016, which within a few years became an important producer of armored vehicles. Another successful project was the establishment of the SLOVAK TRAINING ACADEMY, a center for the training of helicopter pilots and ground personnel, which at its inception was the only private owner and user of UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters in Europe.

This is one example showing CSG’s successful cooperation with American companies and Michal Strnad’s orientation toward partners from Western Europe and the USA. Another is obtaining a license to manufacture Pandur wheeled armored vehicles from GDELS, the European part of the American corporation General Dynamics. CSG also bought from GDELS in 2020 its first production plant in Western Europe: the FMG munitions factory in Granada, Spain. CSG has delivered some of its products to the U.S. market, for example the POLR-1 radar, which serves the needs of tactical intervention units and displays living beings behind a wall or other non-metal barrier.

CSG International Expansion: Fiocchi, Perazzi, Kinetic

After 2020, Michal Strnad and his team made a strategic decision to expand into the production of small-caliber ammunition and create another pillar of CSG’s business. Following this, the CSG group began looking for opportunities in this field and in 2022 successfully acquired Fiocchi Munizioni, a leading global manufacturer of small-caliber ammunition with production plants in Italy, the United Kingdom, and the USA. Thanks to the acquisition of Fiocchi, which produces premium ammunition, hunters and sport shooters became a new target customer group for CSG.

Aimed at this target group is another acquisition by Michal Strnad: the purchase of an 80% stake in the Italian family firm Perazzi at the end of 2023. Perazzi manufactures shotguns for elite sport shooters and hunters and is an iconic brand. Its arms have won 60 Olympic medals. As with Fiocchi, the descendants of the founder, the Perazzi family members, remain minority shareholders.

Michal Strnad’s largest business deal so far was concluded in November 2024, when he completed the purchase of The Kinetic Group, which includes leading American manufacturers of small-caliber ammunition such as the Federal and Remington brands. The transaction price exceeded USD 2 billion and represents the largest investment of Czech capital in the USA. It also made CSG the largest producer of small-caliber ammunition in the Western world.

Development of Large-Caliber Ammunition Production

An exceptionally important line of business for CSG has become the production of large-caliber ammunition. The group has long operated in this field. It acquired its first capabilities and manufacturing capacity through long-term leases of state-owned defense enterprises in Slovakia, with another impetus being the already mentioned acquisition of Spain’s FMG in 2020.

After Russia’s aggression against Ukraine in 2022, Michal Strnad immediately decided on substantial investments to expand production capabilities at existing companies, while also seeking opportunities to extend production to new locations. In parallel, efforts toward vertical integration were underway so that within CSG companies there would be a production chain from input commodities to the final product.

Thanks to this, in 2024 CSG became a key player in the so-called Czech Ammunition Initiative, led by the Czech government to increase supplies of large-caliber ammunition to Ukraine. The CSG group and its companies played a crucial role in this project and have delivered more than 2.7 million artillery rounds to Ukraine. This strategic step not only strengthened CSG’s geopolitical relevance but also demonstrated its ability to respond to urgent demand in the defense industry.

As part of efforts to vertically integrate production, in October 2024 CSG expanded into Germany. In Lower Saxony, it purchased from the U.S. publicly traded company International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) a nitrocellulose plant and the surrounding industrial complex. This step represents a further strengthening of vertical integration in the munitions segment, because after the closing of the transaction CSG will begin producing energetic nitrocellulose in the German plant, needed for the manufacture of both small-caliber and large-caliber ammunition.

Another project that will increase CSG’s independence in large-caliber ammunition production is a joint venture with Greece’s state-owned enterprise HDS, announced in 2025. Under it, CSG will restore TNT production in the Greek town of Lavrio.

Together with investments in the production of powders, propellant charges, and TNT in Slovakia, Spain, and Greece, CSG is becoming a unique European manufacturer of large-caliber ammunition with a high degree of independence from external suppliers.

Ambitions in High-Tech Industry

Michal Strnad is aware that to maintain the group’s competitiveness and growth, it is necessary to develop products using breakthrough technologies such as AI, robotics, and augmented/virtual reality. Therefore, CSG became one of the partners and investors in the Presto Tech Horizon (PTH) venture capital fund, established in 2024. PTH identifies and financially supports the development of emerging companies with original products using dual-use technologies.

In autumn 2025, CSG founded AviaNera Technologies, through which it entered the unmanned aerial systems (UAS) segment. The aim of this company is to develop and manufacture various categories of drones (loitering munitions, anti-drone systems, deep-strike UAVs) and their components, especially engines.

Business Philosophy and Strategy

Michal Strnad is building CSG as a global industrial brand with key production capacities and business partnerships in EU and NATO countries. Therefore, after the first phase of the group’s expansion, which took place in Central Europe, he expanded CSG through acquisitions in Italy, Spain, and the USA. The owner also supports the group’s commercial activities worldwide; for this purpose, specialized trading agencies operate within his group, such as EXCALIBUR INTERNATIONAL and CZECHOSLOVAK EXPORT. Michal’s strategy is to continue growing in key business sectors both by investing in existing companies and through new acquisitions. He considers the human capital of the CSG group to be a key value; his priority is therefore to attract excellent experts and managers both to the group’s headquarters and to its member companies.

Michal is also placing increasing emphasis on ESG activities. This is why Tatra is developing a heavy-duty off-road vehicle powered by an electric motor drawing energy from hydrogen fuel cells. Another technology with an environmental dimension involves EWA and SAWER devices to extract water from air, which CSG developed together with the Czech university ČVUT. CSG is strongly engaged in supporting healthcare and sport, promotes equal opportunities for all its employees, and strictly adheres to an ethical code.

A prestigious activity in the field of sports support is the partnership with the Czech Olympic Team, which CSG concluded in September 2025. In the Czech and European football environment, news also resonated—also announced in September 2025—that Michal Strnad bought a majority stake in the top Czech football club FC Victoria Plzeň.

Under Michal’s leadership, CZECHOSLOVAK GROUP has become a major global industrial group that manufactures excellent products and is able to place them on world markets. The group’s results can be seen on all continents: ELDIS radars monitor Indian airspace; POLR-1 radars are used by special police units in America for hostage rescues; Tatra vehicles are used by firefighters, miners, and soldiers from Germany to Australia. Ammunition produced by Federal and Remington in the USA is used by millions of American hunters and sport shooters, as well as local sheriffs and soldiers.

is a very active owner and manager with a strong will, he is above all a team player. The core team thanks to which CZECHOSLOVAK GROUP came into being and grew to its current form is the Strnad family. As part of the family business tradition, Michal’s younger brother Jaroslav Strnad Jr. is already involved in managing several holding companies.