American Made Primers

American Owned Companies. Keeping Your Money in America

Firehole ORDNANCE | Travelers Rest, South Carolina | Last Updated: June 2026

The Critical Importance of American-Owned Primer Supply

The recent acquisition of The Kinetic Group by the Czechoslovak Group (CSG) represents a very significant shift in the U.S. small arms market, directly impacting the supply chain for a critical component: the percussion primer. While the facilities remain on American soil, this transaction has effectively transferred a significant portion of U.S. ammunition manufacturing capacity to a foreign-owned entity, raising important questions about domestic supply resilience.

This action underscores the vital necessity of businesses like Firehole Ordnance, a division of Firehole LLC, an American company based in South Carolina. Firehole Ordnance is a distributor of White River Energetics LLC (WRE) percussion primers. These two companies embody the core principle: American Made PrimersTM, American Owned Companies, Keeping Your Money in America.

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Kinetic Group Becomes a Foreign-Owned Entity

The Kinetic Group was the sporting products division of the publicly traded U.S. company, Vista Outdoor. In late 2024, Vista Outdoor sold The Kinetic Group to the Czechoslovak Group (CSG), a Czech industrial-technology holding company owned by billionaire Michal Strnad, for approximately $2.22 billion USD. The sale was finalized in late 2024.

US Companies Now Foreign-Owned: The acquisition includes several of the most iconic and essential American ammunition and component brands. While the factories remain in the U.S., the ultimate corporate ownership now rests with CSG in the Czech Republic. These U.S. companies and brands include:

    • Federal
    • Remington
    • CCI
    • Speer
    • Hevi-Shot
    • Alliant Powder

What was not fully understood at the time of the acquisition — but has since been stated explicitly by CSG leadership — is that military export growth is the primary strategic objective for Kinetic under foreign ownership. CSG's Ammo+ CEO David Štěpán told Reuters directly after the acquisition closed: "The largest opportunity is in the military segment, that was a wholly fringe interest for Kinetic." He cited CSG's NATO partnerships and noted that Kinetic's previous public-company structure had limited military sales — a constraint that private ownership removes. This is not speculation about what might happen. It is the stated growth strategy of the company that now owns Federal, Remington, CCI, and Speer. (Opinion: The commercial ammunition market will feel the production capacity consequences of this strategic pivot.)

Impact on U.S. Domestic Production and Primers

The transfer of ownership ("takeover" according to the CSG website) has a magnified effect in the market for ammunition components, particularly primers. The Kinetic Group's brands (CCI, Federal, Remington) are major producers of primers. When combined with the pre-existing foreign ownership of Fiocchi (majority-owned by CSG since 2022), CSG now controls an extremely significant share of the total U.S. primer manufacturing capacity.

Primer Production: The Kinetic Group is the largest manufacturer of ammunition in the U.S. (Opinion:  Making the combined CSG-owned capacity of primer production a significant factor in the U.S. supply chain.)

Market Dominance: (Opinion) The consolidation makes CSG the largest Western producer of small caliber ammunition, and places over 50% of U.S. domestic primer production capacity under foreign control. (Specific percentage data is proprietary and not publicly available;  this is a reasonable opinion based on industry analysis.)

Annual U.S. Requirement: (Opinion) The demand for primers in the U.S. civilian market can spike dramatically. The capacity controlled by CSG has been integral, historically, to meeting the multiple billions of primers required annually for both commercial ammunition and reloading.

Primer Production

The Kinetic Group is the largest manufacturer of ammunition in the U.S. 

Market Dominance

The consolidation makes CSG the largest Western producer of small caliber ammunition, and places over 50% of U.S. domestic primer production capacity under foreign control. Specific percentage data is proprietary and not publicly available;  this is a reasonable presumption based on industry analysis.

Annual U.S. Requirement

The demand for primers in the U.S. civilian market can spike dramatically. The capacity controlled by CSG has been integral, historically, to meeting the multiple billions of primers required annually for both commercial ammunition and reloading. 

What Has Happened Since the Acquisition

The concerns raised at the time of the Kinetic Group acquisition were not hypothetical. Here is what has actually occurred since CSG completed the purchase in November 2024.

CSG is operating as a wartime defense supplier — and growing fast. CSG's Defense Systems segment grew 55% in 2025, reaching €5.35 billion in revenue. That growth was driven by the war in Ukraine — direct deliveries, foreign military aid programs, and NATO restocking. By 2024, 42% of CSG's total revenue came from Ukraine alone, up from 23% in 2023. To put that in plain terms: nearly half of the revenue generated by the company that now owns Federal, Remington, CCI, and Speer originates from an active war zone. The organizational and financial priorities of a company operating at that scale are not oriented toward keeping American gun store shelves stocked. (Opinion — see disclaimer below.)

They are signing large military contracts right now. In April 2026 — less than six months ago — CSG announced a contract to deliver 155mm long-range artillery ammunition to a European customer valued at nearly €250 million, with deliveries over ten months. The Kinetic Group is explicitly listed as a key company within CSG executing these commitments. Each large defense contract represents production resources — components, capacity, logistics — flowing toward military fulfillment before commercial distribution.

Federal Ammunition is now a direct U.S. Army supplier. In June 2026, Federal Ammunition — the flagship Kinetic brand — entered a strategic agreement with the U.S. Army to supply Peak Alloy cartridge case technology across multiple calibers, including a five-year contract for 5.56mm NATO training ammunition. The technology is also being evaluated by several allied nations. Federal is now an active military supplier under a foreign-owned parent with explicit military growth objectives. The combined effect on commercial small-caliber availability is not difficult to reason through. (Opinion — see disclaimer below.)

A planned domestic primer factory was cancelled. In 2022, Fiocchi USA announced a $41.5 million domestic primer manufacturing facility — a significant planned addition to American primer production capacity. In April 2026, that project was cancelled. The capacity never materialized. At the exact moment domestic primer supply is under stress and the largest primer producer is under foreign-owned military-growth priorities, a major planned relief valve for that supply gap was quietly removed. (Source: AmmoSquared Blog, April 28, 2026)

The bottom line. CSG's stated strategy is military growth. Their revenue confirms it. Their contracts confirm it. A planned domestic competitor's primer facility just got cancelled. The commercial ammunition market is not where CSG's attention is focused — and the brands that supply most of America's ammunition are now part of CSG. That is the supply chain reality for American consumers and small domestic manufacturers in 2026.

What happens if production/Supply is diverted?

The primary concern for the U.S. market stemming from foreign ownership revolves around the potential for supply diversion — a risk that is no longer theoretical.

Supply Risk. Should CSG choose to increase the export of American-made primers and ammunition to supply foreign military contracts — in Europe, NATO countries, or elsewhere — it could lead to domestic shortages and subsequent price spikes for the American consumer market. The mechanism does not require malicious intent. It requires only that military contracts, which carry guaranteed volume and pricing, receive production priority over commercial distribution channels that do not. That is standard business logic.

Economic Risk. While CSG has committed to retaining all U.S. jobs, the profits and ultimate revenues from the sale of American-made products eventually roll up into the financial accounts of a foreign company. This represents a loss of capital that would otherwise be reinvested in the U.S. economy and infrastructure.

CSG's leadership has publicly stated that expanding Kinetic's military sales is the primary growth objective under new ownership. CSG's defense revenues grew 55% in 2025. A €250 million artillery contract was signed in April 2026. Federal Ammunition signed a U.S. Army agreement in June 2026. The supply chain risk that critics of this acquisition warned about is not a prediction — it is the current operating environment.

(The assessments above represent informed opinion based on stated corporate strategy and observed market conditions. See Opinion Disclaimer below.)

The answer to that supply chain risk already exists. It is American-owned, Arkansas-built, and expanding.

The Importance of Fully American-Owned Supply

The acquisition of Kinetic Group by CSG makes one thing clear: the United States cannot afford to depend on foreign-controlled companies for critical ammunition components. A robust, fully American-owned primer manufacturing base is not a preference — it is a supply chain necessity.

While it is essential to recognize and acknowledge the reality that the primers produced by the Kinetic Group companies are still American made, high quality products manufactured by good, solid American citizens, whose jobs and skills are essential to their communities, the fact remains that the revenues and ultimate control are foreign.

This is where companies like White River Energetics LLC, whose products are distributed by Firehole Ordnance, provide a vital counterpoint.

White River Energetics (WRE) LLC is located in Des Arc, Arkansas. They are an expanding, wholly American-owned energetics and primer manufacturer — American owned, American operated, American profits. WRE is actively investing $70 million in new capacity: $10 million to expand their existing primer facility and $60 million to build a new smokeless propellant factory. That propellant investment is not incidental — it directly addresses one of the most acute vulnerabilities in the current supply chain. WRE is creating 100 new American jobs in the process.

What American ownership actually means in practice:

  • Capacity decisions are made for American consumers and defense needs — not foreign military contracts or foreign shareholder priorities
  • Investment, profits, and revenue stay in the U.S. economy — not rolling up into the accounts of a Czech defense conglomerate
  • Production priorities cannot be redirected by a foreign parent pursuing military growth objectives in a war zone

The choice is straightforward. Securing the critical component supply chain requires companies whose commitment is anchored in the United States — providing true long-term resilience and embodying the principle:

American Made PrimersTM, American Owned Companies, Keeping Your Money in America.

SHOP AMERICAN MADE PRIMERSCLICK HERE

References

  1.   CzechTrade Offices. "Czechslovak Group Wins Approval for US Ammunition Maker Takeover." www.czechtradeoffices.com.
  2.   Czechoslovak Group (CSG). "CSG consummates the acquisition of The Kinetic Group." czechoslovakgroup.com.
  3.   Star Tribune. "After years of negotiations, a sigh of relief following $2.2B sale of Anoka ammo brands." startribune.com.
  4.   SHOT Business. "CSG Completes Acquisition of The Kinetic Group." shotbusiness.com.
  5.   Arkansas Economic Development Commission. "White River Energetics Expands in Des Arc, Creates 100 New Jobs." www.arkansasedc.com.
  6.   GlobalNewsWire. "White River Energetics Expands in Des Arc, Creates 100 New Jobs" GlobalNewsWire.
  7.   Reuters / Global Banking & Finance. CSG Expands Kinetic Military Ammo Sales. Reuters / GBF.
  8.   SGB Online. "CSG Ammo+ Segment Gets 2025 Lift from Kinetic Group and Fiocchi Consolidation." sgbonline.com.
  9.   GlobalNewsWire. "CSG to Supply Long-Range Artillery Ammunition Worth Almost EUR 250 Million to a European Customer." GlobalNewsWire.
  10.   ClearanceJobs. "The Army Wants Tougher Ammo And Just Found a New Way to Get It." ClearanceJobs.
  11.   CSG Group. "Annual Report 2024." View here.
  12.   AmmoSquared Blog. "State of the Ammo Industry Spring 2026." blog.ammosquared.com. April 28, 2026. 

Opinion Disclaimer

This page contains factual reporting, cited sources, and informed opinion. We have done our best to distinguish between them throughout. The following represents our clearest statement of what is opinion and why.

  • CSG's market share in U.S. domestic primer production — the 50% figure is our estimate based on publicly available brand information. Specific production capacity data is proprietary and not publicly disclosed by the companies or government agencies.
  • The prediction that supply diversion will result in price increases and shortages — this is a reasonable inference based on historical market behavior and basic supply and demand. It is not a documented outcome.
  • The assertion that CSG's military growth strategy will reduce commercial ammunition availability for U.S. consumers — this is a reasonable opinion based on CSG's stated corporate strategy and observed market conditions. It is not a verified causal relationship.
  • The connection between CSG's defense revenue growth and current U.S. distributor inventory conditions — this connection is inferred from timing and available evidence. It is not documented.
  • Supply risk and economic risk assessments — these represent potential outcomes based on the ownership structure and stated priorities of CSG. They are statements of risk, not statements of fact.

Nothing on this page constitutes financial, investment, or purchasing advice. Firehole LLC makes no warranties, express or implied, regarding the accuracy or completeness of the market observations contained herein.

September 2025 — Initial publication.

June 2026 — Added: Post-acquisition developments including CSG defense revenue data, Federal Ammunition U.S. Army agreement, and €250M European artillery contract. Updated reference list.

June 2026 — Updated: Rewrote "What Has Happened Since the Acquisition" section for readability. Added Fiocchi $41.5M primer facility cancellation. Rewrote "What Happens If Production/Supply Is Diverted?" section. Rewrote "The Importance of Fully American-Owned Supply" section with WRE propellant factory detail. Added transition sentence between sections. Corrected and expanded reference list to 12 citations. Removed inline opinion markers — consolidated to Opinion Disclaimer section. Updated Opinion Disclaimer.