Success in spite of the coronavirus
With a turnover of CHF 682 million, an EBIT of CHF 30 million, and incoming orders amounting to CHF 722 million, RUAG MRO Holding Ltd ends its first year as an independent business in a very positive position. The employees of RUAG MRO Holding have shown they can guarantee the security of the Swiss Armed Forces systems in any scenario. Thus RUAG MRO Holding Ltd has proved itself a reliable partner of the Armed Forces, in spite of the corona pandemic and its challenges in terms of logistics chains, and so made a vital contribution to Swiss security.
The first year as an independent company has shown that unbundling to create a company with a new focus on the needs of the Swiss Army and thus the security of our country is the right path. This new focus offers the opportunity, the autonomy and the availability to improve the vital key systems over their entire service life. RUAG MRO Holding Ltd aims to develop this capability further and extend it to meet the requirements of the future. This includes not only the major procurement projects of the Armed Forces, but also new areas, for example, in the field of digitalization and secure (tele-) communications. With the newly created RUAG MRO Holding Ltd, the Swiss Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sport (DPPS) has gained another strong partner.
Competence development
The first year was strongly marked by the completion of the unbundling process and the building of the new company and its structures. It became clear that in some areas a certain amount of catching up was needed. Furthermore, our real estate portfolio has fallen behind in recent years in terms of its substance maintenance, and this needs to be remedied. Central in this is the development of new competences. RUAG MRO Holding Ltd is currently well positioned with regard to the day-to-day maintenance of current systems. There is however scope for expanding the research and development activities. In a field subject to such swift technological change, RUAG MRO Holding Ltd will in the future not only perform the necessary maintenance services, but also make a contribution to development.
Key Projects 2020
In the past year, RUAG MRO Holding has been able to implement various key projects. After experiencing some problems and delays, the 12 cm mortar 16 system for the Swiss Armed Forces is now on track. A further key project carried out by RUAG Ltd was the value maintenance of eight Cougar TH98 helicopters belonging to the Swiss Armed Forces.
Since 2020 RUAG has been a member of the Swiss Confederation’s “Exemplary Energy and Climate” initiative, and has therefore defined goals in various areas, as proof of operating according to the “Energy Strategy 2050” in the period to 2030. These areas include, among other things, increasing energy efficiency, using a greater percentage of renewable energy in our own energy use, and increasing our in-house electricity production with photovoltaic systems. In addition, RUAG MRO Holding Ltd aims to support the Swiss Armed Forces in reducing their CO2 emissions.
The future lies in the hands of everyone working at RUAG MRO Holding Ltd. Training young people to become the specialists of the future is an objective that lies close to our heart. In 2020, RUAG trained a total of 280 apprentices in 14 different professions. As part of the “SwissSkills” initiative, eleven of them qualified for the championships and gained top marks. Three of them gained silver medals in their professional fields and so became Swiss vice-champions. In 2021 RUAG will continue to offer apprenticeships in spite of the coronavirus, and will offer the same number of places as before. RUAG has made a further contribution to supporting specialist training by accelerating collaborations across the professions, in-house and with external agencies, among them several universities and colleges.
For more information about RUAG, contact Kirsten Hammerich, Senior Media Relations Manager, Kirsten.Hammerich@ruag.ch / Tel. +41 58 467 05 11