Cheddite’s Origins

The origins of Cheddite can be traced back to the end of the 1800s, when in Chedde, a small village on the Swiss-French border in the Upper Savoy, two friends created a mining explosive, which was revolutionary for the time. They called it “Cheddite”.

Since then CHEDDITE has become synonymous with explosives, so much so that today the Italian dictionary gives its meaning as ‘explosive’.

At the same time the wonderful Cheddite logo, the famous dragon clawing the world, was created.

 1901 The Founding of Cheddite Italia

Cheddite Italia, then called Società Franco Italiana Esplosivo Cheddite, was established at the start of the twentieth century, in 1901 to be precise. It was founded on a site in Livorno which extended, and still extends, over 50 hectares of Tuscan countryside. There are plains and small hills covered by Mediterranean scrub with abundant fauna typical of the Maremma region, such as wild pigs and deer.

Cheddite's history of excellence

Around the time the company set up in Livorno, Cheddite opened another plant in Switzerland, near Lake Isleten. While Livorno only made powder explosives, in line with the original product, in the Isleten factory the production range broadened to include the manufacture of dynamite, and this included all the processes of component synthesis.

In this context, it was natural, soon after to add the manufacture of smokeless propellants for hunting and shooting. At this point, in Livorno, manufacture of the now famous powders such as “SUPER GRANULAR”, “SLC”, “NORMAL BLUE”, and “CGL” started, while in Isleten the production of the celebrated “AQUILA” powder began.

The passage from powder to civil munitions, which are still used for shooting and hunting, was iinevitable. Soon hunting shot shells and their components were being manufactured in Livorno. In the CHEDDITE archives, kept in its offices in Livorno, the company’s records of that time can be admired. They are handwritten in a calligraphy which shows steadiness of hand and perfection page after page and word after word, which in today’s computer age, is enchanting and admirable. 

The present: European Leader in smoothbore shotgun cartridge components and a High Quality Cartridge Manufacturer.

At the beginning of the Eighties, Cheddite bought the French “Gevelot” plants, and this gave rise to Cheddite France. In the following years, high levels of synergy were reached between the various plants. The Livorno plant concentrated on the manufacture of ready made “cartridges” and in some components, base wads and wads. France, meanwhile, except for a small production of ready made products, concentrated its efforts on primed empty case and primer production. This production, that year after year brought the levels of quality and quantity to new peaks, aided Cheddite in becoming the undisputed European leader in just a few years as they reached near perfection in these products and manufactured over 1.2 billion primers and 1 billion primed empty cases.

In fact today, the “CLERINOX”, “CX 2000”, “CX 1000”, “CX 50” primers, are internationally known for their consistent performance, and are the only ones that can be combined with all the types of powder on sale today.

The Future

Cheddite is determined to not only pursue the continuous improvement of single cartridge components to increase final product quality, but above all, to direct all its efforts into the sustainable development of hunting and shooting.