MSM Group, the Slovak Shell Maker Inside the Czechoslovak Group
MSM Group is the Slovak ammunition specialist inside the Czechoslovak Group that opened a 155mm shell-body line in Snina in 2024 with a stated capacity of 360,000 units a year. Headquartered in Dubnica nad Váhom, the group makes artillery, tank and training ammunition, and has spent the past few years buying or building plants from Slovakia to Spain and Germany to escape the bottleneck that defines Europe’s ammunition market.
MSM Group at a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Legal name | MSM Group s.r.o. |
| Headquarters | Dubnica nad Váhom, Slovakia |
| Parent | Czechoslovak Group (CSG), the Czech-based defense holding controlled by Michal Strnad |
| Founded | 2012, according to industry listings |
| Main subsidiaries | ZVS holding, VOP Nováky, Vývoj Martin and Fábrica de Municiones de Granada (Spain) |
| Core business | Ammunition across its life cycle, plus vehicles, training and electronics through group companies |
| Financials | The group does not publish a consolidated figure in open sources; trade press cited ZVS holding revenue near EUR 120 million after a roughly 50 percent rise |
Who owns MSM Group
MSM Group is a subsidiary of the Czechoslovak Group, the privately held holding built by Michal Strnad that also controls other Czech and Slovak defense firms such as Excalibur Army. That ownership matters because it lets ammunition, vehicles and weapons carriers be sold together. The group’s most visible recent export, the Morana wheeled howitzer, is an example, as our report on the Morana howitzers for Latvia shows.
Within CSG, MSM plays the role of shell maker. Its companies hold the tooling and licenses to forge, machine, fill and pack the large-caliber rounds that the rest of the holding’s gun systems consume, which is a hedge against the supplier dependence that has dogged European armies.
What ammunition does MSM Group make
| Company | Location | Role |
|---|---|---|
| ZVS holding | Dubnica nad Váhom and Snina, Slovakia | Artillery and tank ammunition, including 155mm shell bodies and fuzes |
| VOP Nováky | Nováky, Slovakia | Loading, assembly and packing of ammunition and explosives |
| Vývoj Martin | Martin, Slovakia | Development, testing and engineering services |
| FM Granada | Granada, Spain | Medium and large-caliber ammunition, acquired by MSM in 2020 |
The portfolio runs from 155mm NATO-standard shells to 122mm and 120mm tank rounds and training ammunition. MSM Group describes the business as covering the whole life of a round, from development and production to maintenance and demilitarization. That breadth is unusual for a company of its size and helps it take on export orders that need custom fuzing or packaging.
MSM Group 155mm production in Snina
The showpiece is the Snina plant in eastern Slovakia. In October 2024 ZVS inaugurated a new line there for 155mm shell bodies, with a stated capacity of 360,000 units a year. Trade press put the line’s cost near EUR 31.5 million and the wider Snina investment near EUR 80 million.
Shell bodies are only one link in the chain. A round also needs propellant, fuzes and explosive fill, and this is where Europe has been short. MSM Group is working on the gap through a planned powder-charge facility at the former Chemko site in Strážske, where a program of up to EUR 350 million in several stages is planned, with bimodular charges targeted for 2027. Those dates are company plans, not delivered output.
The broader context is the race to supply Ukraine and to refill NATO stocks, described in our analysis of the 155mm shell production race. Slovak plants are a small part of the total, but they illustrate why governments now treat filling and powder capacity as strategic assets.
MSM Group in Spain, Germany and Ukraine
Since 2020 MSM has owned Fábrica de Municiones de Granada, a plant tracing its roots to a centuries-old Spanish gunpowder works, giving the group a production base on the European Union’s Mediterranean flank. Reporting also shows the group operating in Serbia and buying the Walsrode nitrocellulose plant in Lower Saxony, Germany, which would bring a key propellant ingredient under CSG control.
On Ukraine, MSM has worked with Ukrainska Bronetechnika on large-caliber ammunition, with targets reported at 100,000 rounds by 2025 and more than 300,000 a year from 2026. As with all such figures, they are announced goals. For comparison with peers, see our profile of Nammo, the Nordic group that also sells ammunition into many of the same European programs.
MSM Group frequently asked questions
What does MSM Group do?
It produces artillery, tank and training ammunition and related components through subsidiaries in Slovakia and Spain.
Who owns MSM Group?
It is part of the Czechoslovak Group, which is controlled by Michal Strnad.
Where is MSM Group based?
Dubnica nad Váhom, Slovakia, with plants in Snina, Nováky and Martin, plus Granada in Spain.
How many 155mm shells can MSM Group make?
The Snina line has a stated capacity of 360,000 shell bodies a year, per reports at its 2024 opening. Completed rounds depend on filling and propellant supply.
Does MSM Group supply Ukraine?
It has cooperated with Ukrainian industry on large-caliber ammunition, and the targets reported are plans rather than confirmed deliveries.
- Czech and Slovak defense industry trade press (company listings and 2024 Snina opening coverage)
- Czechoslovak Group corporate information
- Wikipedia – Czechoslovak Group (accessed October 2026)
- Defence & Tech reporting on European ammunition production
