Defence and electronics company, Grintek Ewation, has signed a R110 million export order for its specialised electronic intelligence system, and the Pretoria-based company says it expects more to come.
Late last year, JSE-listed Grintek, a defence and telecommunications organisation, formalised a two-year relationship with German defence company EADS Ewation, to form a new firm - Grintek Ewation.
The German company acquired 45% of the new Grintek Ewation, supplying operational assets and technology to the new entity, as well as creating a research and development facility for the design and manufacture of the MRCM (Monitoring, Reconnaissance, Countermeasures) product range.
According to Grintek Ewation, MRCM products represent the full range of SIGINT technologies, including power amplifiers and jammers in the HF and V/UHF ranges, as well as wideband monitoring, direction finding and signal classification equipment.
The new R110 million export contract is for an unnamed European client.
Tinus van Wyk, Grintek Ewation marketing director, says the company expects orders from South-East Asia for similar systems.
"The co-operation agreement exploited synergies in technical and marketing expertise within the two companies, and opened the doors to international markets previously inaccessible to us. Our information intelligence system solutions are seen internationally as key elements in the preservation of security," says Van Wyk.
"Despite intense competition in this high-technology field, we have succeeded in achieving major export success, to the extent that currently the bulk of our business is based offshore, " he says.
Grintek Ewation has a workforce of around 400 employees, and in December last year, major shareholder Grintek said it expected the new company to produce annual revenues of around $120 million.
The Grintek share price was trading up 5c or 2.33% on its Tuesday close, swapping hands at 220c by midmorning today.
Related stories:
Grintek forms new defence company with German partner
Share
