Březnice, near Zlín, is becoming another key location on the map of the Czech defense industry. The family-owned engineering company ZAKO Turčín held a ceremonial opening of a new production facility there to mark the 30th anniversary of its founding. The investment, totaling a quarter of a billion crowns, brings cutting-edge technology to the Zlín Region and opens the door to new contracts, including those for the modernization of the Czech Army. The defense industry is expected to account for up to 30 percent of the company’s future production in the coming years, led by the prestigious project to manufacture components for the new CV90 infantry fighting vehicles.

From Humble Beginnings in a Garage to State-of-the-Art Manufacturing Facilities

The story of ZAKO Turčín is a textbook example of the development of the Czech engineering industry. It began in the mid-1990s in modest garage spaces. As the founders – the Turčín cousins – recall, their initial motivation was to work for themselves, move forward, and improve their lives. “We started out in two of our own garages, each with two or three colleagues. Opportunities opened up for us, so we started our business,” recalls Jiří Turčín, one of the founders and the company’s managing director, reflecting on the enthusiasm of the “’90s.”

When the garages were no longer sufficient, the company moved to rented warehouses on the Baťa complex in Zlín. From the very beginning, the founders built their business on Baťa’s ideals – hard work, courage, and a fair approach to both customers and their own employees. The company operated in rented facilities until the turn of the millennium, after which production moved to a former agricultural complex in Březnice. Between 2008 and 2009, a second facility was added in Provodov.

Video: 30 Years of ZAKO Turčín | Customer Appreciation Day and Grand Opening of the New Hall / YouTube

The company grew organically and weathered the 2008 global financial crisis. At that time, uncertainty prevailed in both global and local markets, accompanied by a decline in orders, which resulted in a 60 percent drop in revenue for ZAKO Turčín. The company managed to overcome these difficult times and has shown steady growth ever since.

“We built the company one step at a time. The key was creating a high-quality team and building long-term relationships with our customers, whose demands constantly pushed us forward,” says Jiří Turčín, looking back on the company’s thirty-year journey. Today, ZAKO Turčín employs more than 160 people and exports nearly 80 percent of its production, primarily to the demanding markets of Western Europe.

New Hall F: A Quarter-Billion Injection into Precision Engineering

The latest milestone is the opening of a new production hall designated as Hall F. Its construction required an investment of 250 million crowns. This amount was financed partly from the company’s own resources and partly through a commercial loan; the company did not draw on any government grants for either the construction of the hall or the new technology.

Thanks to this expansion, the company’s total production space has grown to 12,500 m². The new hall has a total area of 4,400 m², of which 3,800 m² is production space. To handle oversized and heavy components, the hall was equipped with an overhead crane with a lifting capacity of 20 metric tons.

The new facility houses state-of-the-art technological equipment: a Uniport 6000-HV five-axis gantry machining center, a high-precision ASM1612+APC universal five-axis machining center equipped with full palletization, and a DEA Alpha Performance 3D measuring machine for output quality control. According to company management, these new technologies will streamline processes, maximize machine uptime, enable automated pallet changes, and ensure precise clamping at zero points.

Construction work on the new facility, carried out by Navláčil, took exactly 300 days. This was preceded by the demolition of the original site, which took an additional 30 days. “Much of the work took place under challenging winter conditions, yet all deadlines and conditions were met,” said Kamila Balajková, the company’s second managing director, praising the builders’ professionalism. In addition, up to 40 new jobs were created in the region.

The Defense Industry in the Spotlight: Patience Pays Off with Orders for CV90 Combat Vehicles

From the perspective of traditional engineering companies, the shift of some production capacity toward the defense sector is noteworthy; this sector is expected to account for roughly 30 percent of production in the coming years. The new facility is primarily designed for the production of large-scale parts, including components for the energy industry; however, it will also manufacture parts for CV90 tracked vehicles for the mechanized brigades of the Czech Army.

Why did this successful company decide to enter the demanding defense market? The reason was an effort to further diversify risk. “We work in the energy sector, we work on rail vehicles, and we figured we could give defense a try as well,” explains Jiří Turčín regarding the company’s entry into this new market segment.

The path to defense contracts required a great deal of patience and perseverance. The first contacts with the prime contractor, the multinational defense giant BAE Systems, date back to 2017. Over the years, the company had to go through a demanding process, including thorough security clearances and obtaining special licenses for military production. Company representatives admit that the process took a very long time and that, for years, nothing seemed to be happening. It wasn’t until 2023 that progress was made; the company actually launched certified processes and began producing samples of specific parts for the CV90 project.

According to company executives, the most important aspect of entering the defense industry was building mutual trust and convincing partners of the company’s capabilities through precise prototyping and flawless performance in certification audits, including the standardization of welded components and solid materials in accordance with strict military and international standards.

Regional Pride: Training a New Generation of Mechanical Engineers in Zlín

“Thirty years is an important milestone for us, but it is not the final stop. The new facility allows us to handle even larger and more technologically demanding orders,” says Jiří Turčín. 

An example of the company’s reliability and quality on the international market is its long-term cooperation with Traktionssysteme Austria. This collaboration on the supply of components for traction motors in rail vehicles has been successful for nearly the entire duration of ZAKO Turčín’s existence. 

According to company representatives, while pressure on European industry is constantly increasing and Europe’s overall competitiveness is declining slightly due to expensive inputs, Western customers demand precision. It is precisely this first-class quality and maximum reliability of deliveries that make Březnice the destination of choice for the most technologically complex projects.

Although ZAKO Turčín is a major exporter connected to global production chains, it retains the character of a traditional Czech family business, with its heart and roots firmly anchored in the Zlín region. The company benefits from the extensive engineering tradition in the Zlín region and draws the vast majority of its employees from the immediate vicinity. It does not feel the need to rely on foreign labor or staffing agencies.

Cooperation with local educational institutions – specifically the Zlín Polytechnic Secondary School of Industry – ensures the company’s continued operation and workforce renewal. Dozens of young students regularly come to the company for technical internships. Furthermore, ZAKO Turčín actively and successfully works to dispel outdated myths about working in engineering. Management representatives emphasize that the goal of these tours is to clearly show the younger generation that a modern mechanical engineer is no longer just a “person in dirty clothes.” They show them clean production halls equipped with computers, robots, and sophisticated technology – which the younger generation finds both interesting and engaging. 

This systematic effort is paying off: some interns return to the company, and some graduates are hired for full-time positions after finishing school. Nevertheless, attracting young people to the trade is not easy. The company’s management therefore considers recommendations from current, satisfied employees to be its most effective recruitment campaign.

Crisis Resilience: Energy Self-Sufficiency and Grid Vulnerabilities

The stability of an energy-intensive manufacturing plant depends on securing reliable and price-predictable electricity supplies. Recent years have brought severe challenges in this regard. An extreme test of resilience was the collapse of the supplier Bohemia Energy, when the company experienced a price shock and was forced, overnight, to pay for a month’s electricity consumption the equivalent of its previous annual costs.

The solution lies in striving for the greatest possible energy self-sufficiency. ZAKO Turčín has invested heavily in installing a photovoltaic park on the roofs of its facilities in Březnice, with a total capacity of 450 kWp. Its own solar power plant helps offset the enormous energy demands of its operations. The company also faces the limitations of the Czech power grid and unyielding bureaucracy.

ZAKO Turčín’s 30-year journey is proof that local patriotism, a focus on extreme machining precision, and strategic thinking when it comes to investments still hold enormous potential in Europe. Furthermore, strong and independent domestic supply capabilities form the foundation of a reliable national security system.