Nexter

Nexter's role is to meet the requirements of the French Army and of friendly armies around the world. Its field of activity covers weapons systems, armoured systems and ammunition, and ranges from product design to the maintenance in operational conditions.

VBCIOn the strength of its multiple areas of expertise, Nexter projects itself as a benchmark systems manufacturer and integrator, especially for the land armaments in France, providing the armed forces with one-stop, tailored solutions and full logistics support.

This desire to deliver the appropriate response is reflected in the numerous partnership agreements not only in technologies but also in product and programme development.

The Group's cooperation agreements with BAE Systems Bofors, Renault Trucks Defense, EADS, Thales or Sagem DS, and those of its CTAI subsidiary with BAE Systems, show how Nexter strives to generate synergies by combining its own expertise with that of partners skilled in other technologies or operating in other markets.

Nexter's products is currently being used in over 100 countries.

In 2006, the Group recorded a turnover of E720 million. Its order book totalled E1,828 million. At 31 December 2006, its operational workforce stood at 2,491 including 44% of engineers and managers.

Nexter is the new French land forces arms supplier. It isn't just a new name and logo for the Giat Industries group. A new company has been formed, focussed on its core activity of «systems integrator». Nexter is an engineering and services group that uses its expertise in many complex technologies to supply its customers with land-based defence systems that meet their present and predictable needs, together with the related services necessary to maintain the systems in an operational condition throughout several decades.

o achieve this, the Group has been entirely restructured: on one side, there are the land-based defence industrial and services activities, while the other side specialises in assisting reconversion.

This new group, that we have named Nexter, handles the core activity of the former Giat group, and comprises four subsidiary companies, each specialising in one of the four main professional sectors: Weapons systems and armoured vehicles (Nexter Systems), Munitions and warheads (Nexter Munitions), Maintaining in operational mechanical condition (Nexter Mechanics) and Maintaining in operational electronic condition (Nexter Electronics).

Each company corresponds to a consistent product/market combination, focussed on customer requirements.

The subsidiary companies structure came into force on 1st December 2006. The main objective of this structure is to create the Nexter Group that comprises the newly formed companies Nexter Systems , Nexter Munitions , Nexter Mechanics and Nexter Electronics.

This new Group is dedicated to the industrial and services core activity, through these subsidiaries that each specialise in their own professional sector. The Group is thus ideally positioned as a major element in the European land-based arms industry. The subsidiaries will have more operating freedom, that will enhance their effectiveness and enable them to win new markets.

The social, industrial and site conversion activities will be conserved within the holding company, Giat Industries SA, together with other activities that are not part of the core activity. An NBC-Sys subsidiary will be formed, to enable a partnership with an industrial group capable of ensuring its long-term existence.

The subsidiary-based structure will have no impact on jobs but will make the Nexter Group extremely competitive, with the ultimate objective of creating a European leader in the land-based arms sector.

The Nexter's group has implemented an active, future-oriented policy, devoting around 14% of its 2005 turnover to research and development. In particular, the group is investing in systems engineering to design high-technology products able to withstand the multiple stresses to which equipment and combatants are subjected during operations with respect to protection, firepower, mobility, communications and logistics.

Research and development mainly involves three areas of study:

• Forward-looking studies to imagine the combat conditions of the future and to develop concepts for future weapons systems by identifying the technologies required to produce them

• Upstream studies, designed to develop technologies that will help to deliver the major operational functions required by weapons systems in the future

• Product studies, used to design and develop future products

The Group accordingly carries out a wide range of research as part of contracts awarded by the DGA French defence procurement agency or as a private venture. In 2005, Nexter strengthened its intellectual property policy by filing 47 new patents. Systems engineering is central to the business of producing weapons systems for land forces. It helps to optimise the response to a changing operational requirement and is continually focused on maximum product costeffectiveness and optimal integration of combat system functions: battle management, mobility, firepower, protection, logistics.

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