The small town of Polička in the Czech Republic, located around 200 kilometres east of Prague, has just under 9,000 inhabitants, but has a tradition dating back more than a century as a location for the production of military equipment and explosives, which began in 1920 with the founding of the "First Military Ammunition Factory". Several companies are still involved in the manufacture and sale of ammunition for military and civilian purposes on the site complex. What these companies have in common is that they are all part of STV-Invest-Holding – a purely Czech, family-owned group of companies. Since 2017, STV Technology, which makes small arms ammunition under the brand name "Scorpio", has also been part of this group. For the time being, around 150 employees are primarily making the most popular calibers, 9mm Luger for handguns and .223 Remington for rifles. Demand confirms the planning: annual production exceeded 100 million cartridges for the first time in 2022. According to the company, the number of employees is set to rise to around 230 by the end of 2025, 85% of whom work in production, as additional calibers are to be added to the range, such as 7.62x39 mm and 7.62x51 mm, as well as their civilian sister cartridge .308 Winchester.
With the Scorpio brand, STV Technology is initially focussing on classic cartridges such as 9mm Luger and .223 Remington
STV Scorpio brand's 9mm Luger cartridges come with bullet weights of 115 and 124 grains; the .223 Remington comes with 55-grain bullets.
Although STV Technology has its roots in the Czech Republic, the company reports that manufacturing is based on European suppliers: "For the production of cartridge and bullets, we use multi-position transfer presses that come from Belgium or Italy. The machines for producing bullet cores, designed for single-position operations, are also from these countries. Our CNC machines and lathes are manufactured in Poland or Italy. We purchase surface treatment technologies in Italy. We purchase annealing systems in Belgium or the Czech Republic. Cartridge filling equipment and assembly presses are supplied by our sister company DEUS Automation. They also supply us with optical and laser inspection and sorting systems that help us meet even the most stringent production criteria. (...) Our quality system is governed by ISO 9001. And the laboratory performs measurements and tests according to both the C.I.P. and STANAG / AEP-97 methodologies."
Scorpio cartridges are now in the programme of importer and wholesaler Leader Trading
The Scorpio cartridges are competitively priced: the 50-round boxes of 9mm Luger with 115 or 124-grain bullets are currently priced at €19.00, while the 20-round box of rifle cartridges in .223 Remington (55-gr, or 3.6-gram bullet) is listed at €14.30.
We in the editorial team are also looking forward to the first Scorpio boxes for testing –the basics in terms of care and quality control during production have definitely been met.
Further information is available on the STV Technology website.
