Rheinmetall DeTec consolidates its competencies in a bid for greater global competitiveness
04/22/2004
Reacting to changing market conditions, Rheinmetall DeTec AG has moved to reorganise its Weapon and Ammunition division. By merging Rheinmetall W&M GmbH of Unterlüß (the previous parent company) with a number of other components to form the new company Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH in Ratingen, Rheinmetall DeTec AG – already Europe's leading supplier of ground forces equipment – aims to sharpen further its international competitive edge.
At the start of the second quarter of 2004, along with Rheinmetall W&M GmbH, the units Mauser-Werke Oberndorf Waffensysteme GmbH of Oberndorf, Buck Neue Technologien GmbH (co-located in Neuenburg and Baden) and Nico Pyrotechnik GmbH of Trittau will be integrated step-by-step into the new company.
In a transnational corporate alliance embracing Switzerland's Oerlikon Contraves Pyrotec AG and the German-Swiss Nitrochemie group, the new Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH will form part of the future division Rheinmetall Waffe Munition (RWM).
In opting for this streamlined configuration, Rheinmetall is responding to deep-running structural change in the defence technology sector, consolidating its forces in order to set the pace in the process of modernising the world's armed forces, as well as to achieve a sustained improvement in the military capabilities of protection and effect on target.
In the four business segments mirroring the core competencies of the future Rheinmetall Waffe Munition division, i.e. Large-calibre; Medium-calibre; Propellants; and Protection Systems & Pyrotechnics, Rheinmetall is on the technological cutting edge worldwide. The Group's strategy of systematic internationalisation coupled with the sustained exploitation of synergies arising from reorganisation and a further honing of its innovative strengths, is aimed squarely at extending this lead.
With a view to the future requirements of the world's armed forces, today the company already offers a broad spectrum of state-of-the-art technologies, ranging from high-performance microwave weapons and laser applications to non-lethal weapons and pyrotechnic systems for protecting military and civilian assets on land, at sea and in the air. As well as highly advanced powder and propellant solutions, the company also offers forward-looking products in the medium-calibre range designed to defend against the terrorist threat.
The locations of the merged units will continue to function as development centres and/or production plants. In future, the new Rheinmetall Waffe Munition division will employ a workforce of approximately 2,430. No substantial changes in staffing levels at the division's locations are planned as a result of this reorganisation.
Longstanding brands will not be disappearing: the division will continue to manufacture and market its products under existing brand names.
Contact
Rheinmetall AG
Corporate Sector Defence
Press and Information
Oliver Hoffmann
Rheinmetall Platz 1
40476 Düsseldorf
Germany
Phone: +49 211 473-4748
Fax: +49 211 473-4157
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