Closing Ranks for Greater Global Competitiveness
12 May 2004 09:45
Consolidating resources and forces under a single corporate banner.
With this imperative in mind, the Weapon and Ammunition division of Rheinmetall DeTec is currently being hammered into a lean, hard-hitting enterprise.
In creating the new company Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH – to be formed from the step-by-step merger of Rheinmetall W&M GmbH, Mauser-Werke Oberndorf Waffensysteme GmbH, Buck Neue Technologien GmbH, Pyrotechnik Silberhütte GmbH and the Nico group – Rheinmetall DeTec is bringing under centralised management an important part of the corporation's activities in the field of weapons and ammunition.
"In taking this step, Rheinmetall DeTec is responding in a very carefully aimed way to the radical structural change that's been impacting on the defence technology sector in Germany and around the world", states DeTec Executive Board member Detlef Moog, explaining the strategic thinking behind the reorganisation: "In future, too, we want to play a major role in the process of military transformation now taking place in the world's armed forces – a process which, moreover, is confronting the defence technology industry with a whole host of new requirements and responsibilities."
Export markets are becoming increasingly important to the companies of the Rheinmetall DeTec group, and competing effectively at global level means having to have optimised cost structures.
First and foremost, this corporate closing of ranks under a new banner, and the significantly closer cooperation within the Rheinmetall DeTec group which it will usher in, will lead to the sustained emergence and exploitation of new synergies. In the future, DeTec's Weapon & Ammunition division will consist of four business segments: Large Calibre; Medium Calibre; Propellants; and Protection Systems & Pyrotechnics. With some 2,430 employees at ten different locations, the division now generates annual sales of around €570 million.
A brief glance at the current list of forward-looking projects shows how well positioned the newly created corporate grouping is when it comes to assisting in the necessary process of military transformation.
For instance, a 155mm projectile for generating infrared-concealing smoke will soon be launched on the market, while the company's first non-lethal weapons (high-performance microwave and lasers) are also approaching technical maturity.
Other highlights include the new time-delay high explosive 120mm tank round; enhanced performance, temperature-independent propellants; and the medium calibre recoilless automatic cannon. The division's lifecycle services for weapons and ammunition will likewise be the subject of a stepped up marketing effort.
Protection Systems & Pyrotechnics
The product spectrum of the Protection Systems & Pyrotechnics segment encompasses, for example, the newly developed MASS naval countermeasures system, which is already in service with a number of navies worldwide; practice ammunition; flash and stun projectiles (used by numerous SWAT teams); and other pyrotechnic products.
A variety of launcher and protection components for vehicle self-defence have been developed, with individual solutions available for various vehicle sizes and tactical parameters. Another major project involves the further development and marketing of a new area concealment smoke for protecting military assets. Likewise, the segment is eager to expand its market share in the domain of array flares, focusing on aluminium-coated glass fibres for protecting aircraft.
Non-lethal weapons are likewise poised to play an important role in future, with the RWM division's Protection systems & Pyrotechnics segment pointing the way. This forward-looking product group includes, for example, a successful impact impulse round, a 40mm foam projectile that packs the force of a Mike Tyson punch.
For more information on this company:
Nitrochemie / Rheinmetall Weapon Munition - Artillery and Mortar Charge Systems, Propulsion Systems and Components
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