Shefshet Demirovski and the multimillion ammunition business of ATS Group

Skopje-based businessman Shefshet Demirovski has, over recent years, built a cluster of defense-industry companies that span the production of helmets and body armor, the manufacture of machinery for making ammunition, and the production of small-caliber ammunition to NATO specifications. His firms have again attracted regional attention following a recent journalistic inquiry into their growth, business ties and several legal episodes in Serbia.

Behind the ATS name in North Macedonia are three manufacturing strands. The first production facility opened in Skopje in 2017 and focuses on helmets, body armor and other personal protective equipment for soldiers and police. In 2019 ATS Engineering was established to produce machines and equipment for ammunition manufacturing, and in 2020 a factory in Samokov was taken over and today operates as ATS AMMO.

ATS AMMO has become one of the larger capacities in this market. The plant produces small-caliber ammunition in NATO calibers of 9, 5.56, 7.62 and 12.7 millimeters.

The numbers show rapid growth. ATS AMMO reported revenues of around 7 million euros in 2023, about 9.1 million euros in 2024, and, according to Macedonian Credit Bureau data, revenues reached around 13.7 million euros in 2025 — a 51 percent increase in one year. The factory had 198 employees and reported equity of more than 11 million euros.

Group structure and exports

ATS Group DOOEL Skopje, wholly owned by Demirovski, also posts seven‑figure turnovers. The company recorded revenues of about 15.3 million euros in 2023, around 4.9 million euros in 2024, and rebounded to nearly 10 million euros in 2025. Profit in 2025 amounted to approximately 520,000 euros, and the company employed 57 people.

ATS Engineering is smaller in scale: roughly 2.1 million euros in revenue in 2023 and about 1.5 million euros in 2024. It employs between 25 and 30 people and is focused on manufacturing machines and industrial equipment.

A significant portion of ATS output is exported. Demirovski has previously stated that between 40 and 50 percent of production is placed on the U.S. market, and the group registered a branch in St. Louis in 2022. The companies have also developed links with the Turkish defence industry: in 2025 a memorandum was signed with the Turkish state company MKE that foresees plans including construction of a new gunpowder factory in North Macedonia.

The expansion has been shadowed by controversies in Serbia. In 2019 Demirovski was arrested in a case linked to suspicion of bribery for information on ammunition production technology at the "Prvi Partizan" factory in Užice. The proceeding concluded in 2022 with the application of the principle of opportunity and the payment of 250,000 euros, without a trial.

Documentation seen by journalists indicates the amount was paid by Aleksandar Milojević, known as "Aca Cvećkar", who was later charged in a different case as part of a group tied to cocaine smuggling. ATS reappeared in a separate 2024 Serbian case when three engineers from Krušik were arrested on suspicion of passing confidential information about ammunition production to the Macedonian company. The three denied guilt, the case remained under investigation, and Demirovski was not charged in that matter.

Photo: press material from the event