General Atomics Europe intends to take over RUAG Aerospace Services

PRESS RELEASE

General Atomics Europe intends to take over RUAG Aerospace Services Dresden/Oberpfaffenhofen/Bern, 16 October 2020. General Atomics Europe GmbH in Dresden intends to take over RUAG Aerospace Services GmbH in Ober-pfaffenhofen. Up to now, the company has been part of the Swiss technology group RUAG International. With this planned acquisition, the General Atomics Europe Group (GA-Europe) will expand its product and service portfolio to include the maintenance and re-pair of business aircraft and military helicopters, as well as the production and maintenance of the Dornier 228. GA-Europe intends to retain the 450 people em-ployed at the Oberpfaffenhofen site. The takeover is still subject to approval by the responsible authorities. The trans-fer of ownership (contractual closing) is expected to be completed this year. The parties have agreed not to disclose the contractual modalities.

For General Atomics Europe, the acquisition means a sustainable consolidation of its market position in the aviation business. The bundled competencies of GA-Europe and RUAG Aerospace Services will create a technology group with over 1,000 employees. In addition to the further development of the existing business, the new partnership will open up additional potential for value creation, growth and innovation despite the current global economic crisis.
As a result of the integration, the GA-Europe Group will in future be one of the few companies in Germany to have all the necessary approvals for the development, pro-duction and maintenance of civil aircraft.

Securing the future of the Oberpfaffenhofen site
Harald Robl, Managing Director of General Atomics Europe, explains: “We are aware of the challenges that a takeover of this magnitude means, especially in the aviation sector amid the current coronavirus crisis. But General Atomics Europe is commercially robust. We have also developed a future concept that creates a classic win-win situation for GA-Europe and the future new location in Oberpfaffenhofen. We are convinced of the great potential of this company and its employees and want to develop Oberpfaffenhofen into the European aviation core of the General Atomics Europe Group. At the same time, we would like to thank the Bavarian State Government, in particular State Secretary Roland Weigert from the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, who accompanied and supported the process positively.”

Felix Ammann, Managing Director of RUAG Aerospace Services GmbH, adds: “We are delighted to have found an experienced industrial partner in General Atomics Europe, which has the best prerequisites to continue successfully the business activities at the Oberpfaffenhofen special airport. RUAG International’s top priority is to lead the loca-tion and its 450 employees into a secure future.” The agreement with General Atomics Europe is a further important step for RUAG International on the way towards a strategic realignment. RUAG International continues to employ 800 people for aircraft structure construction (RUAG Aerostructures) at the Oberpfaffenhofen site – this company segment is not affected by the sale.

About General Atomics Europe
General Atomics Europe GmbH is headquartered in Dresden. A medium-sized service and consulting company, it has stakes in eight subsidiaries with a total of around 600 employees. In addition to business activities in the aviation sector, its range of services includes the modernisation and maintenance of rail vehicles, the disposal of conventional ammunition and explosives, special construction services and environmental remediation, engineering precast reinforced concrete parts, environmental monitoring and water technology. Today’s GA-Europe has its roots in the former Spezialtechnik Dresden GmbH, which was taken over in 1992 by the familyrun US company General Atomics and has been consistently developed since then. General Atomics is a global technology company with more than 10,000 employees and is headquartered in San Diego, California. www.ga-europe.com

About RUAG International
RUAG International is a Swiss technology group focusing on the aerospace industry. The company has production sites in 14 countries and has four divisions: Space, Aerostructures, MRO International and Ammotec. RUAG International employs around 6,500 people, around two thirds them outside of Switzerland. www.ruag.com

Editorial Contact General Atomics Europe
Carsten Deuster SKM Consultants GmbH Tel.: +49 (0)211-5579450 Mobile: +49 (0)172-1741295 E-Mail: carsten.deuster@skm-consultants.de
Editorial Contact RUAG International:
Clemens Gähwiler Tel.: External Communication Manager E-Mail: clemens.gaehwiler@ruag.com

20-10-16 Presse_Akquisition RUAG AS.pdf