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Good news for the Považie region as defence firms there are making progress

Ministry of Defence of The Slovak Republic

09.06.2023

On an away-day trip to the Považie region today, top defence leaders, led by Defence Minister Martin Sklenár and Deputy Defence Minister Marian Majer, visited the defence firms in Dubnica nad Váhom for a tour of their production and assembly lines. Together with the companies' executive managers, they discussed scaling up manufacturing operations and gave reassurances to the mayor of Dubnica nad Váhom that the activities of the defence firms were safe.

Speaking from Dubnica nad Váhom, Martin Sklenár said: "From the perspective of the defence industry, the region's tradition and potential are significant. Even with the backing of the MOD, the defence firms are making additional investments in manufacturing and infrastructure upgrades. Not least, this will have a positive influence on the town and the region, with the outlook for employment growth improving."

As he announced, work on the key modernisation programmes for the Slovak Armed Forces is being taken forward by DMD GROUP, a state-run holding company overseeing ZVS Holding, KONŠTRUKTA - Defence, and ZTS Špeciál. These defence firms are currently working on three major projects: the CV90 tracked infantry fighting vehicle, the Patria wheeled armoured modular vehicle, and 155mm artillery munitions.

On artillery munitions, Martin Sklenár said: "It is exactly the experience of Ukraine that points to the importance of refilling artillery munitions stocks. Over medium and long term horizons, we, therefore, assume that our increased manufacturing capacity will be used to support the needs of the Slovak Armed Forces as well as those of NATO and the EU and the Ukrainian Armed Forces."

ZVS Holding, which produces different types of artillery rounds, would welcome a call for proposals for EU funds to extend its capacity to produce sufficient levels of artillery munitions. "Currently, we have prepared investment projects worth roughly €30m to boost our manufacturing capacity. We are going ahead with them, regardless of whether or not we get EU funding for them," Director General of DMD GROUP Štefan Škultéty said, adding that the positive trend is supported by figures - this year ZVS Holding is going to offer 200 new jobs and €2m will be used to extend the production facilities at KONŠTRUKTA - Defence and ZTS Špeciál.