When a military repair facility was established in February 1946 in the building of a former distillery in Šenov near Nový Jičín, no one could have imagined that a company was being born there that would one day make history in the Czech defense industry. After the war, the site was literally filled with captured Wehrmacht equipment – tanks, armored personnel carriers, and other vehicles. It was here that the unit began operations, laying the foundation for today’s VOP CZ and marking the start of an eighty-year journey filled with technical achievements and extraordinary challenges.

Beginnings in the postwar chaos

The plant was originally intended for the repair of heavy armored vehicles. The very first vehicles officially repaired there were British Cromwell tanks, which the Czechoslovak Army had used during World War II. At the same time, however, work continued on a large number of German captured vehicles that remained in the country after the war.

Thanks to gradual development, the plant soon evolved into a repair center capable of servicing all types of tanks used by the Czechoslovak People’s Army at the time. By the 1950s, it had become a key pillar of military equipment maintenance.

The structure of the company and its evolution

In 1946, a plant began operations in Nový Jičín, and five years later another one was added – VOP-026 in Šternberk. After 1989, both plants underwent a fundamental transformation, transitioning from military units to state-owned enterprises. The Šternberk facility was restructured in 1994 and renamed VOP-026 Šternberk, s.p. in 1997.

In the following years, military technical institutes in Vyškov, Slavičín, and Brno also joined the VOP-026 structure, forming its specialized divisions. The year 2010 brought a major change – that was when the enterprises 025 Nový Jičín and 026 Šternberk merged into a single entity. Two years later, on April 16, 2012, the state-owned enterprise VOP CZ was established with its headquarters in Šenov near Nový Jičín, in the form we know today.

The 1980s: Peak production and a thousand employees

The company experienced its busiest period in the 1980s, when it carried out extensive maintenance work on tanks for the then Czechoslovak People’s Army. These were primarily T-55 and T-72 models. At that time, VOP employed around a thousand people not only in Šenov, but also in Bludovice near Nový Jičín and in Šternberk. It was a time when there was so much work that the facilities operated practically around the clock.

Development of civilian programs

After 1990, the company was affected by a decline in defense contracts, linked to the reorganization of the military and general spending cuts. To preserve technology and jobs, the company began developing a civilian engineering production program. VOP thus gradually began manufacturing a wide range of products, from forklifts and heavy-duty industrial crushers to the well-known airport stairs that can be found at airports throughout Europe today.

The impact of historical events

After 1989, the company underwent a fundamental transformation – the soldiers left, the plant became a purely civilian state-owned enterprise, and began hiring new employees from among specialists. However, some former soldiers have remained with the company to this day, and thanks to their experience, they are an irreplaceable part of the team.

The disarmament agreements of the early 1990s also had a major impact. Around 1,300 T-54 and T-55 tanks destined for disposal were gradually brought to the site, which the company then dismantled. However, some of the tanks were converted at the facility into various specialized vehicles, such as the SPOT-55 firefighting tank.

Major projects and the history of tanks

Over the years, VOP CZ has become an expert on the entire family of Soviet tanks. At various times, it has repaired or modernized the T-34/85, T-54, T-55, and T-55AM models, and since 1983, all versions of the T-72 in service. Thanks to its vast experience, the company was selected in 1995 as the lead contractor for the modernization of the T-72M4 CZ, which remains the most advanced version of the Czech tank to this day.

After 2010, the company also manufactured 107 Pandur II armored vehicles for the Czech Army, including the development of several special versions.

Over the course of its history, the company has repaired or modernized approximately 4,600 tanks. It is currently beginning to carry out repairs on Leopard 2A4 tanks for the Czech Army in cooperation with the German company Rheinmetall.

Not just tanks

But tanks weren’t the only thing being built in Šenov. Vopka also regularly secures contracts in military welding. The most recent and currently largest order is for 130 GTF3 Iveco armored cabins for the German company KNDS, and the company is targeting additional customers in the military welding sector, particularly in the German market. Welding is nothing new for Vopka; in the past, for example, the company welded armored cabins for NIMR vehicles and Pandur II vehicle hulls. In addition to welding, the Šenov-based company manufactures fuel tankers on Tatra chassis, which can be found at all Czech Armed Forces military airfields, and is developing its own robotic system, TAROS.

VOP CZ today: Lead partner of the CV90 project

Today, VOP CZ focuses on the modernization, repair, and production of military equipment for the Czech Army. Its largest current project is the preparation for the production and maintenance of 246 CV90 vehicles, in which the company serves as the main strategic partner of BAE Systems/Hägglunds.

A completely modernized assembly line, new facilities, and specialized workstations have been established in Šenov. Investments total approximately 80 million crowns. At the same time, development activities are expanding; for example, the company is working on a medical version of the CV90 vehicle, the only one of its kind.

Outlook for the Future

VOP CZ’s strategic vision is clear: to be the primary provider of lifecycle support for the Czech Army’s ground military equipment. Looking ahead, the company aims to participate in the maintenance of Leopard tanks and CV90 vehicles, as well as other army modernization projects.

After eighty years of existence, hundreds of projects, and thousands of repaired vehicles, VOP CZ remains what it has been from the very beginning – a company that cares for the army’s key equipment and, through its work, helps ensure the nation’s security.