The ANNOTICO Report

In reading this story about the take over of a former BAE Avionics plant in
Edinburgh by an Italian firm, I discovered that Italy's Finmeccanica is
Europe’s Third-largest Defence Company, and Plan to be a Global Player.

Finmeccanica already is spending millions of euros across 40 Italian
universities and 26 foreign universities and research centres, including
Massachussetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University.

New owners want a higher profile for the former BAE factory, writes Robert
Ballantyne

The London Times
May 08, 2005

The radar domes on the roof of the former BAE Avionics plant in Edinburgh
are not just for show.
Norman Bone, general manager at the Crewe Toll plant, has the
state-of-the-art system connected up for testing the company’s new
high-definition radar, which can be used on ships or aircraft. “I can
almost tell what a fisherman’s reading 10 miles out in the Forth,” he said.
“Competitors are still at the design stage — we’ve got it working.”

Radar is just one speciality of the former BAE plant, which last week
changed its name to Selex as it transferred ownership to the Italian
defence company Finmeccanica.

And the new Italian owners of Selex clearly see Scotland as key to their
export plans and are set to raise the profile of the business at home and
abroad.

Finmeccanica, Europe’s third-largest defence company, recently won the
contract for Marine One, the American presidential helicopter fleet, and is
seeking new orders, both in America and the UK.

Selex, whose takeover from BAE Systems was completed by Finmeccanica this
week, is bidding to put its new high-tech radar, built in Edinburgh, onto
both American and British helicopter fleets.

Aside from radar, the 2,200 workers at the Selex plant produce laser-aiming
devices and targeting systems, with about 500 employed in manufacturing and
the remainder in research and development.

Bone estimated that up to £30m a year went to off-site contractors,
supporting a further 500 local jobs.

The main contract pipeline is £500m for the second tranche of the
Eurofighter, which will last until 2012. The company is bidding for the
third tranche, until 2016.

The company is also bidding for work on the American joint strike fighter,
and sees opportunities in US homeland security, for example in monitoring
border areas.

Bone said that a campaign would be launched to raise the profile of Selex
with MPs and MSPs, despite the company working mainly for the Ministry of
Defence, which is a reserved area. “People have no real concept of what we
are doing in Edinburgh,” he said. “We’re an underrated success story in
Scotland — Finmeccanica wants a higher profile than BAE Systems did.”

He acknowledged that some politicians might be wary of defence companies.
“They may be anti-war, but I don’t think they are anti-defence,” he said.
“MSPs have been very positive about the contribution to local industry.”

The company already spends £500,000 a year sponsoring students through
Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt universities, and a further £500,000 on
university projects. This is expected to rise, with Finmeccanica already
spending millions of euros across 40 Italian universities and 26 foreign
universities and research centres, including Massachussetts Institute of
Technology and Stanford University.

Bone said the takeover would be good for Edinburgh and Scotland, opening up
previously untouched export markets. “They don’t want to be a little
Italian firm, they want to be a global player. We are joining a company
which wants to grow in defence electronics, just as we want to grow.

“It’s very exciting — but exports are the key.”

 http://www.timesonline.co.uk/
article/0,,2095-1602189,00.html