a great success. 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. 1936 The company's move from Prague to Vlašim leads to further growth. 1945 Sellier & Bellot is 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 is extended to forty rifle calibre types, ten pistol and twenty revolver types. Shot shell manufacture ranges from .410 caliber to 12 gauge. Total output soon increases fivefold. Approximately 70% of the output is for export. Original 7.62×45, 7.62×39 and 7.62×54R cartridges are successfully introduced into production to cover the demands of the Czechoslovak Army. 1964 Company starts to produce antifriction bearings. 1965 Production of packaging machines, now concentrated in the subsidiary company Sellier & Bellot, stroje Ltd. begins. 1972 Manufacture of cartridges according to valid C.I.P. standards begins. 1992 Transformation of the state-owned company to a joint-stock company – Sellier & Bellot a.s. (JSC). The company's shareholders are Czech natural and legal persons; a part of the equity is held by the company's employees. Almost 70% of production volume is exported through the daughter company – Sellier & Bellot Trade a.s. The company's products are exported to over seventy countries. 1998 The company is granted ISO 9001 certification. 1999 Sellier & Bellot earns the bronze medal in Deutsches Waffen Journal readers' vote in the category of Ammunition. 2005 Sellier & Bellot JSC celebrates its 180th anniversary. It is not only one of the oldest engineering companies in the Czech Republic, but also one of the oldest companies in the world. It has been manufacturing products bearing its trademark uninterrupted since 1825. 2009 Sellier & Bellot is acquired by CBC of Brazil. References External links Companhia Brasileira de Cartuchos Ammunition manufacturers Companies of Czechoslovakia Manufacturing companies established in 1825