European defence group KNDS plans to expand its production capacity with additional sites in Germany and closer Franco-German cooperation, the company's head of business in Germany, Florian Hohenwarter, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung broadsheet.
Hohenwarter cited the new CAPINT main battle tank as an example. "This solution brings together technology from both countries: The lower part of this battle tank concept is based on the Leopard 2 from KNDS Germany, while the turret comes from KNDS France at the request of the French military," he said.
Two new sites in Germany are also intended to support the production ramp-up at KNDS.
"In Germany, according to current planning, we will establish two additional production facilities. One site will be dedicated to the entire production chain from the shell to the finished vehicle, in this case with a focus on wheeled vehicles - specifically the Boxer," Hohenwarter said. The second site would focus primarily on welding, he added.
He declined to give details on locations. "I don't want to speculate ... No final decisions have been taken yet," he said.
"We expect the workforce at KNDS Germany to double by the end of the decade, meaning 4,000 to 5,000 additional employees." Further jobs would also be created at suppliers and other related businesses, he added.
KNDS was formed in 2015 from the merger of German tank manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and the French state-owned defence company Nexter, driven at the time in part by cuts to defence budgets in Germany and many other European countries.
The group is headquartered in Amsterdam, with its German headquarters in Munich.
