The company plans to implement a two-phase approach with an investment of up to $90 million and create some 565 jobs over a six-year period. Construction will begin immediately, with initial start-up planned for March 2020. Production at the Little Rock facility will commence in two, three-year phases.

“As CZ-USA looked to increase our presence in North America, it engaged in a multi-state search for the ideal location,” said Bogdan Heczko, CZ-USA Chairman of the Board. “The Arkansas workforce, culture, business climate and industry support cleared the way for us to choose Little Rock as our new home.”

Česká zbrojovka a.s. has shipped guns to the U.S. since 1991 through a variety of distributors. In 1997, it began its own distribution from a warehouse in California that moved to Kansas City, Kan., in 1998, to have a distribution center for the whole US market.

Arkansas won out over several states, according to Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC) Director Mike Preston, in part due to the central location for U.S. distribution and workforce opportunities. Incentives provided by the state include a forgivable loan, the Governor’s Quick Action Closing Fund, and several sales tax and construction tax breaks. Workforce training funds will also be made available to the company.

Here is the summary of AEDC incentives for CZ-USA which was made publicly available:

Phase 1 - 357 jobs - $60M CZ-USA capital investment

• $11M loan
• $4M infrastructure grant
• $1.25M training assistance
• Create Rebate (performance based rebate based on payroll)
• Tax Back (partial sales tax refund on eligible expenditures)
 

Phase 2 - 208 jobs - $30M CZ-USA capital investment
• $7M loan
• $750K training assistance
• Create Rebate (performance based rebate based on payroll)
• Tax Back (partial sales tax refund on eligible expenditures)
CREATE REBATE (CASH REBATE)

Create Rebate provides annual cash payments based on a company’s annual payroll for new, full-time, permanent employees. In order to qualify, the company must create a minimum of $2 million annually in new payroll. The minimum payroll must be met within 24 months of the effective date of the financial incentive agreement. No benefits may be claimed until the $2 million annual payroll threshold is met.

 

Tomáš Trnka, Generální konzulát České republiky v Chicagu