May 1928
Krcagovo, Serbia
- 1928 Jakob Posinger
– Originally called FOMU - 1935 moved to Uzice, Serbia
– first privately owned factory in the Balkans - WWII facilities were heavily damaged
– explosion killed more than 120 people - After the war – equipped the National Liberation Army
- produce over 400 types of small arms ammo
- unusual and rare cartridges
– 8x56mmR
– 7.92x33mm Kurtz
– 7.65x53mm Argentine
– 8mm Lebel
ППУ “PPU.” This is an abbreviation of the company’s name in Cyrillic letters
prvipartizan.com
About Prvi Partizan
Prvi Partizan is a Serbian ammunition manufacturer based in Užice, founded on May 1, 1928, as FOMU (Fabrika Oružja i Municije Užice, the Weapons and Munitions Factory in Užice), with Jakob Posinger listed as founder. During World War II, the resistance ammunition works run by Tito’s partisans took the name Prvi Partizan (“First Partisan”), and the name stayed when production returned to the original Užice factory after the war. Its cartridges carry the headstamp PPU, short for the Cyrillic Prvi Partizan Užice. The company in its present corporate form dates to May 8, 1998, and is majority owned by the Government of Serbia.
For American shooters, PPU is best known as an affordable source of brass-cased, reloadable ammunition and components, and as one of the few makers of uncommon military and vintage cartridges such as 8x56mmR, 7.92x33mm Kurz, 7.65x53mm Argentine and 8mm Lebel. In 2009 it became the first commercial manufacturer in decades to produce 8mm Lebel ammunition. Trade data compiled by Panjiva ranked Prvi Partizan as the third-largest foreign ammunition supplier to the U.S. market in 2016, and the company reported 1,596 employees in 2018. The factory has also seen tragedy: on September 3, 2009, explosions in its gunpowder area killed seven workers.
Key Facts
- May 1, 1928: Founded in Užice as FOMU, the Weapons and Munitions Factory in Užice.
- World War II: Partisan ammunition works adopt the Prvi Partizan name, later carried back to the Užice factory.
- May 8, 1998: The company is established in its current corporate form.
- 2009: Begins producing 8mm Lebel ammunition; on September 3, explosions kill seven employees.
- 2016: Ranked the third-largest foreign ammunition supplier to the U.S. market.
- 2017: The Serbian government invests 4 million euros in a new production hall.
Sources
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