The German concern Rheinmetall wants to expand its production from Mediaş

Reporter: I'll start with an awkward question. What prompted the people from Rheinmetall to return to Romania, after the failure of the joint venture they had with Uzina Automecanica Moreni? What attracted Rheinmetall representatives to Uzina Automecanica Mediaş.

Alexandra Cristea: Unfortunately, I cannot give you an answer. I can only talk to you about the present, about what we have been doing since we took over the plant from Mediaş. What differentiates Rheinmetall from other companies is that we have always had, but especially in the last 10 years, a very strong internationalization strategy and we have grown in many countries, not only in Germany and this we call op-markets (n .ed. - operational markets), but there are many countries where we also have production capabilities. In the current context, internationalization caught us more prepared than other companies, because we already had this global production structure. When I refer to this type of production structure, I am talking about the fact that we, and now, for a contract concluded by the company in Germany deliver a subsidiary in Australia, and not only in Germany, because every time we try to optimize the capacity production according to the capabilities we have in different facilities, according to time, according to supply chains, and so on, with one focus: to provide the necessary equipment to the soldier in the various countries as quickly as possible. That's why we're always looking at where we can grow and with what capabilities. That it is not only about taking a hall, but also what is produced there. We are happy that last year, in Romania, we signed the first contract with the Romanian state for the upgrade of Oerlikon systems (ed. - artillery systems for anti-aircraft defense), but independently of this we recently inaugurated the facility in Mediaş, after the purchase of the Plant Automecanica Mediaş, which has a rich experience in the production of specialized vehicles - containers, trailers. We, having a production line for military trucks, have a complementarity with what is produced in Mediaş, because they are products that Rheinmetall did not have in its portfolio.

• The MLI program - a goal for Rheinmetall Automecanica Mediaş

Reporter: What will the factory in Mediaş produce? Will the vehicles manufactured there also be delivered to Romania or will they go directly to export?

Alexandra Cristea: We will deliver for both markets. We see this complementarity as a complete solution for trucks and will integrate local production from Mediaş into our global production capacity. We want to locate other parts of our production in Mediaş, especially since we also opened a service and maintenance point in Romania for equipment from Ukraine, because we have a lot of experience in these activities.

Reporter: Regarding maintenance, it was discussed that Rheimetall should have such a point in Satu Mare for the Leopard tanks on the front in Ukraine.

Alexandra Cristea: The point in Satu Mare was opened, but I cannot give you more details. We are still active in the maintenance and overhaul market for countries in the region, including Romania, because they are very important activities now when needed of equipment brought up to current standards, but also based on existing equipment, which must be maintained with upgraded capabilities. And, last but not least, we will use the production and maintenance capacity from Mediaş for possible, potential future programs with the Romanian Armed Forces, especially since we will operate a technology transfer in the new facility of the Rheinmetall group.

Reporter: Will there be an assembly line in Mediaş for the military trucks produced by Rheimetall?

Alexandra Cristea: At the moment there are assembly lines for containers and trailers, which will be kept. Current production capacity will be maintained and improved.

Reporter: Will you also enter the Romanian market of armored personnel carriers?

Alexandra Cristea: As you well know, there is a procurement program for MLIs (ed. - The "Tracked Infantry Fighting Vehicle - MLI" endowment program consists in the purchase by the Ministry of National Defense of 298 MLIs , in the basic and derivative versions), and if we were to win, of course we would use the production capacity from Mediaş.

• Lynx - latest generation modular tracked conveyor, produced by Rheinmetall

Reporter: Apart from the capacity in Mediaş, I understand that Rheimetall is the partner of the Romanian state for the construction of a powder factory in the city of Victoria, Braşov county.

Alexandra Cristea: There are activities from the Rheinmetall group for this investment. The rehabilitation of the former production capacity or the construction of a new powder factory has been taking too long as a project of the Romanian state. We are producers not only of ammunition, but also of powders, explosives, and we have control over the entire production chain. We have cooperation in this sense with the Romanian state, we obtained funding from the European Union through the ASAP program (ed. - Act in Support of Ammunition Production - Action in support of ammunition production in the European Union) and there are activities in scrolling. In addition, there are ongoing activities for the production of medium and large caliber ammunition.

Reporter: What can you tell us about the Lynx armored fighting vehicle, the Rheinmetall product presented at BSDA 2024?

Alexandra Cristea: We have the Lynx and a Skyranger 30 turret with an anti-drone missile, for air defense, and we also have a Skyland HX truck, but the Lynx is a tracked transporter, which is part of a family of vehicles that Rheinmetall has developed - from own funding; it is already under contract and we developed it thinking about the next 40-50 years. It is not an upgrade to another upgrade, but is developed to meet the demands of this century. The Lynx has a modular concept. On the platform of this vehicle is a 30 millimeter turret, but being a family of vehicles we have from command post, to ambulance, anti-tank, logistic support, and so on. These modules can be interchanged with a crane within a few hours; we're the only ones that can do this, but it doesn't necessarily mean we do it in theaters of operations, although it's possible to change them there as well. It's not about that, it's primarily about production, because you have commonality on the chassis - it's the same chassis - which means lower costs, easier production, easier to locate and an efficiency of the fleet, which means that if you have an ambulance in your fleet that you have never used, you can convert it to another mode at a rate similar to those currently in use. As far as we know, we have the largest protected volume, because it is a vehicle where there is enough space. When we think about the capacity to grow in the future, it is long enough, because the equipment inside is becoming more and more, as we see now from the experience gained in the war in Ukraine, where active protection systems are used a lot, but top-attack is a focus on which we have the capacity and as a space to implement the systems needed at this moment, but also those of the future. And for this purpose, we also have the weight because the Lynx is a vehicle that can carry a lot of tons. Therefore, we estimate that the useful life of the Lynx will reach 40 years, which is a real life time in the light of Rheinmetall's track construction experience. For example, the Puma and Marder tracks (ed. - whose production began in 1971), the latter being successfully used even today, including in theaters of operations. Protection, state-of-the-art systems, modularity and the ability to transfer are the strengths of the Lynx vehicle.

• Collaboration with local suppliers, integrated into Rheinmetall's production chain

Reporter: What can you tell us about delivery times?

Alexandra Cristea: This information is classified, but I can tell you that having two active production lines they are extremely competitive, very fast.

Reporter: In recent years, the defense industry companies in Europe have experienced syncope in defense chains. How did Rheinmetall handle this problem?

Alexandra Cristea: Being a large company, we were able to buy a lot of the necessary components in stock and that's why we don't have problems with deliveries. We have two active production lines, which are working, working and we are in optimal parameters.

Reporter: Do you have an estimate on the number of local suppliers who could contribute to the production at the factory in Mediaş?

Alexandra Cristea: We have such an estimate, but we cannot reveal it to you so that our competitors do not find out the degree of interaction with local suppliers. We secured the entire supply chain for the facility in Mediaş and we developed it. Rheinmetall has extensive experience in localizing production and integrating the local supply chain into the entire production chain. We are happy to support the Romanian Armed Forces with whatever they need and that is why we are here, to also support the companies in the national defense industry. For us, it is a long-term partnership, and the purchase of the factory in Mediaş proves this, because we think in the long term.

Reporter: Thank you.