He lost his father, gained an empire. How Martin Drda dominated the Czech arms market.
The financial results of his holding, STV Group, placed him on the Forbes list, where with an estimated wealth of almost 30 billion CZK, he ranked 17th among the 20 richest people in the Czech Republic. However, the beginning of his business is associated with a tragic event.
His company STV, which currently employs more than 1,500 people, specializes in the production of large caliber ammunition and other weapons technology. They produce hundreds of millions of rounds annually, with the goal of reaching a billion. It also engages in the production of grenades, rockets, and plastic explosives. In the CZ, it is the only producer of tank and artillery rounds.
"Our vision is to support those who defend the right of us all to live in a safer world,"
The company writes on its website.
Harvest due to war in Ukraine
One of their most important clients is understandably, for example, the Czech Army, to which they supplied material worth 580 million crowns in 2024 alone. Martin Drda himself refers to the Czech Army as the most important customer and according to him, it will always be in the first place. They also supply ammunition to police forces in a number of European countries.
"I greatly appreciate the support of Defense Minister Jana Černochová, the cooperation with the Intergovernmental Defense Cooperation Agency is important to us. But the stance of the entire government, which strongly supports the defense industry, is also crucial,"
he said in an interview for Novinky.cz.
Although the company recorded a drop in sales in 2023, it has been experiencing a rocket growth in the last two years. The current geopolitical situation in the world has significantly helped the jump in sales and profit, as Drda himself confirmed.
"The war conflict in Ukraine really triggered an unprecedented demand for our products for many years,"
he revealed in the aforementioned interview.
The father tragically died
The STV Group company was founded by Drda's father in the nineties. Originally, it traded in surplus military material. However, he tragically died afterwards. The exact circumstances of his death are not publicly known. Nevertheless, after this event Martin Drda took over the leadership of the company, at just 22 years old.
It soon became apparent that he not only had high ambitions, but also a business talent. Drda began gradually buying ammunition warehouses, such as Hajniště, thus building a future empire.
Originally a trading company, it transformed into a technological-industrial firm when Drda began repairing military equipment – at that time in rented premises in Bludovice near Nový Jičín. A crucial step then came in 2015, when he bought Polička's machine shops, where munition is still produced, which in recent years, naturally, they also export to Ukraine. And it was in Polička that an unpleasant incident occurred this year.
Loss of 120 million due to explosion
This March an explosion occurred in the STV production company in Polička, leading to a devastating fire. The incident was accompanied by the evacuation of more than 800 people, mostly employees, but also people from the nearby area.
Fortunately, the explosion occurred without loss of human life, only one person was injured. However, it damaged spaces and technology in the production hall, paralyzing further production. An adjacent line was also damaged.
STV announced that the explosion was probably caused by a technological defect in equipment used to melt bullets. The cause of the explosion is currently being investigated by the Czech Mining Office. The Police of the Czech Republic is also conducting an investigation due to possible endangerment from negligence.
Initially, there was a threat that the entire damaged hall would have to be demolished. Eventually, it was found out that this was not necessary. STV Company plans to resume production within one year. Over the next few months, work will be done on the repair and modernization of technology.
Record profits for the arms empire
Last year, STV Group managed a promising acquisition - it bought the Slovak engineering company Matador Industries. With this, the holding expanded its product portfolio. The mentioned company produces, among other things, machines for the rubber industry. According to Drda, the holding is no longer just a Czech, but a Central European manufacturer of military technology. Drda stated that STV Group is also open to further investments and is currently analyzing investment opportunities in the Czech Republic and abroad. It currently plans to invest in Dubnica nad Váhom in Slovakia, where it wants to build a construction center, among other things.
Last year, the new executive director of the group became Martin Kele, who had previously led Matador Industries.
This year, he also plans to double the number of his employees. The mayor of Polička, Jaroslava Martinů said that the STV armory could become a key employer in the town. They even provide rental apartments for current and future employees through their subsidiary STV Byty Polička. What's more, they also contributed 20 million for the repair of the local swimming pool and winter stadium.
Last year, STV Group's net profit increased to 5.5 billion crowns, while the previous year the company reported 1.5 billion crowns. Consolidated revenues reached almost 14 billion crowns, and in the year 2023, according to the annual report, it was about 4 billion crowns.
Thus, the owner of the holding, Martin Drda, joined the domestic business elite.
Sources: original text, STV Group, iDnes.cz, CZDefence, Aktualne.cz, Novinky.cz, e15
