Colt No Longer An Iconic American Company

Status
Not open for further replies.
American venture funds aren't what I have in mind when I think "buy american". CZ is a proud, successful brand and importantly a gun brand that can do right manufacturing the legacy and beyond.

I hope it goes well for Colt, I want to buy some more.
 
Zebraranger said:
They were purchased today by a European group, CZ. https://www.westernjournal.com/sign-times-iconic-american-gun-manufacturer-sold-off-european-group/
Sad, many of America's iconic companies are going away, or are being bought out by foreign investment groups.
Click to expand...
I agree. I guess others don't see it that way though. I get that Colt wasn't being ran correctly, but I'm still very upset that a foreign company took over an American company. The lack of concern or pride shown by others in this regard is telling. Zero pride in keeping an American company American. Decades ago, Americans would have took issue with this, in this day and age, not so much.

You are right OP: Colt is no longer an iconic American company. That went out the window today, and no one cared. Sign of the times. Everything that American is being outsourced to or purchased by overseas companies.
 
Last edited:
Colt management came to be dominated by retired Marine Corps officers who knew something about shooting but not enough about business and how to run / grow a firearms company. Colt lost their cash cow government contracts, they failed to innovate, they alienated long-time company engineers who left the company, and they eventually drove the company into bankruptcy. At least CZ is a profitable company, run by people who understand the firearms industry. My bet is that they will get Colt back on their feet and everyone will be happy about it, even if CZ is not American.
 
GunnyUSMC said:
Colt hasn’t built anything innovating in 40 or so years. But people were always willing to pay to ride the pony. Maybe now Colt will start building new guns instead of just remaking something.
Click to expand...
Here come the submicrocompact 15-round polystrikers!

Yawn.

But, if it keeps the doors open so they can make more revolvers.......
 
The only metal stamped with a pony on it I've ever owned is aluminum and .22LR. None of their steel offerings have appealed to me, be it slide or wheel. Anything I could do with a GC, I can do with my RO, for 1/3 less $.

Bill
 
CZ will make firearms product in their image and put the Colt logo on it - Colt is gone, CZ product with Colt logo will carry on. Not necessarily a bad thing, just a different thing (like Miroku and such).
 
No one seems to have a problem about dan wesson firearms. Theyre owned by CZ aswell , since 2005ish i think. May not be american owned anymore, but theyre american made and a quality firearm. Ive only owned 2 czs so my experience is limited, but both were excellent, especially for the price.

I think this is a good thing for colt. Like ozarkhillbilky said, much rather see this than it go the way remington did. In todays world any pro gun ,quality manufacturer that puts out and stands behind their product be it foreign or american gets a nod in my book. Time will tell.
 
Major U.S. military weapons systems:

M249 (Mk 46) Machine Gun - design owned by Fabrique Nationale Herstal (Belgium)
M240 (Mk 48) Machine Gun - design owned by Fabrique Nationale Herstal (Belgium)
M27 Rifle - design owned by Heckler & Koch (German)
M17/M19 Pistol - design owned by SIG Sauer (German)
M320 Grenade Launcher - design owned by Heckler & Koch (German)
M252 81mm Mortar - design owned by BAE (UK)
M119 105mm Howitzer - design owned by BAE (UK)
M777 155mm Howitzer - design owned by BAE (UK)
M68 105mm Tank Gun - design owned by BAE (UK)
M256 120mm Tank Gun - design owned by Rheinmetall (Germany)
M2/M3 Bradley FV - design owned by BAE (UK)
M136 84mm LAW (AT4) - design owned by Förenade Fabriksverken (FFV) (Sweden)

- and now-

M16/M4 series Individual Weapon - design owned by Česká Zbrojovka (CZ) (Czech Republic)

Does anyone see a troubling pattern here?
 
Multiply this story by thousands more in manufacturing things like integrated circuits, small aircraft, knives and you begin to realize that if our corporations can't be bothered to improve, innovate and excel, others will meet that need. Colt floundered for decades. The Czechs make fine weapons and if anyone could make Colt relevant, it would be them. Much better than venture capital groups that understand only cash and how to strip it out of dying companies.
 
While I'm not happy about an iconic American brand now being foreign owned, I think this is more an indictment of American business policy.

The CEO and board of directors in US companies generally make policies that benefit them and go for quick profits over long term goals. Many CEO's get sweetheart contracts that reward instant profit, so we've seen severe employee slashes that swell the bottom line in a quarter, giving the CEO a bonus. They take their loot from a now dying company and go on to the next.

In the rest of the world, CEO's don't get ridiculous sums for salaries and plan long term for the companies growth, not their short term personal gain. Where else but here do CEO's bankrupt a company then get huge sums in golden parachutes when forced out?

I wish CZ, and Colt, the best.
 
Hmm. I am thinking that it might finally be possible to have a double stack, hammer fired, Colt semi-auto that actually works come out of this. The possibilities are intriguing.
 
reddog81 said:
I’m happy Colt is now owned by a firearm manufacturer rather than blood sucking venture capitalists.
Click to expand...

Maybe CZ will give Colt the firm QC kick in the ass they need. Seeing Colts at 3X the market value of comparable type, but better quality Rugers and S&Ws makes me SMH. Colt brand recognition has collectors and noobs alike fawning, at overpriced pistols, with near Taurus quality.
 
lysanderxiii said:
Major U.S. military weapons systems:

M249 (Mk 46) Machine Gun - design owned by Fabrique Nationale Herstal (Belgium)
M240 (Mk 48) Machine Gun - design owned by Fabrique Nationale Herstal (Belgium)
M27 Rifle - design owned by Heckler & Koch (German)
M17/M19 Pistol - design owned by SIG Sauer (German)
M320 Grenade Launcher - design owned by Heckler & Koch (German)
M252 81mm Mortar - design owned by BAE (UK)
M119 105mm Howitzer - design owned by BAE (UK)
M777 155mm Howitzer - design owned by BAE (UK)
M68 105mm Tank Gun - design owned by BAE (UK)
M256 120mm Tank Gun - design owned by Rheinmetall (Germany)
M2/M3 Bradley FV - design owned by BAE (UK)
M136 84mm LAW (AT4) - design owned by Förenade Fabriksverken (FFV) (Sweden)

- and now-

M16/M4 series Individual Weapon - design owned by Česká Zbrojovka (CZ) (Czech Republic)

Does anyone see a troubling pattern here?
Click to expand...
Sadly the answer is "no." As you can see by the comments in this thread, no one sees a troubling pattern at all. Foreign companies could buy out every major business in this country, and as long as people were still getting the stuff that they like, they wouldn't care own bit. It didn't use to be that way in this country.

I would have rathered Ruger or S&W taken over.
 
Styx said:
I would have rathered Ruger or S&W taken over.
Click to expand...
For most of my adult life S&W was owned by some foreign entity. When I was a kid I always wondered why there were Spanish words on S&W revolvers.

Foreign ownership of gun companies is fairly low on the list of things I worry about. I have plenty enough guns already, and there aren’t very many innovations I anticipate that will require them all to be replaced. The machinery and workers remain on American soil regardless of who owns the company. If you really want to worry about outsourcing then worry about the lack of domestic computer chip production. Not far from where I live there’s a parking lot filled with 5-6K of Ford F-150 trucks that can’t be started because of the lack of chips for their computer modules.
 
Styx said:
Sadly the answer is "no." As you can see by the comments in this thread, no one sees a troubling pattern at all. Foreign companies could buy out every major business in this country, and as long as people were still getting the stuff that they like, they wouldn't care own bit. It didn't use to be that way in this country.

I would have rathered Ruger or S&W taken over.
Click to expand...
I support American if the product is the same or better quality than the foreign product. But if you want me to pay more, for a poorer quality product, it’s not happening. What kind of logic supports spending more, for less?
 
Styx said:
I agree. I guess others don't see it that way though. I get that Colt wasn't being ran correctly, but I'm still very upset that a foreign company took over an American company. The lack of concern or pride shown by others in this regard is telling. Zero pride in keeping an American company American. Decades ago, Americans would have took issue with this, in this day and age, not so much.

You are right OP: Colt is no longer an iconic American company. That went out the window today, and no one cared. Sign of the times. Everything that American is being outsourced to or purchased by overseas companies.
Click to expand...

I think it's a sad reflection of far too common poor American business prowess.
 
Colt got sucked dry by financial incompetence and bankruptcy long ago. They they got asset-stripped. The new managers sold the factory, "intellectual property", and even the Colt name to holding companies they owned, and then rented them back at extortionate rates, squeezing every possible penny from Colt. Kevin O'Brien (hognose at weaponsman.com) was an accountant, and documented the disintegration in detail on his blog.

CZ probably didn't buy the plant. They probably didn't have any use for Colt's "intellectual property"; everything anyone cared about was so old it was in the public domain. So they may have just bought the Colt name. Which has been for sale for quite some time, and I note no American company, investor, or consortium opened their wallet for it.
 
I think CZ got it all. They have said they will continue operations in place, not relocating and not replacing managers who were likely in cahoots with the corporate raiders.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

B
  • Locked
The most iconic all metal 9mms pistols in history...
2 3
Replies
58
Views
3K
Comrade Mike
C
CapnMac
  • Locked
Colt bought by CZ
2 3 4 5
Replies
104
Views
9K
franke1951
F
C
  • Locked
Colt/CZ merger a done deal?
2
Replies
30
Views
2K
MAKster
M
G
  • Locked
What does the future hold for American gun companies?
2 3 4 5
Replies
106
Views
5K
mec
M
V
  • Locked
Winchester Repeating Arms Company
Replies
4
Views
770
Preacherman
P
Back
Top