The Finnish company Patria and SIA EMJ MetÄls have signed an agreement for vehicle parts manufacturing in Latvia. The agreement is related to the research and development (R&D) agreement for a common armoured vehicle system signed in October by Finland, Latvia and Patria. EMJ MetÄls SIA, a Latvian owned company specialized in sheet metal processing, has been operating since 2010 and it is the largest company of its kind in the Baltics. Its consolidated turnover in 2019 was 15 million euros, of which exports 38%. Today, the company employs 90 people. Over the past five years EMJ MetÄls has invested more than 4 million euros in equipment and technologies.
“This is a natural continuum of the R&D agreement, involving local industry in the project. Cooperation with local actors is part of Patria’s way of operation that is beneficia for all parties. We are now building a unified supply chain from both existing players in Finland and new ones in Latvia that will support our activities in all of our projects,” says Jussi Järvinen, President of Land business unit at Patria.
Finland and Latvia together with Patria, have signed a research and development (R&D) agreement for a common armoured vehicle system. This agreement is a next step in this collaborative programme after the countries last spring signed a joint technical arrangement (TA). The purpose of the R&D agreement is to develop a common armoured vehicle system, based on the Patria 6×6 vehicle and developed to meet the common requirements of the countries. The agreement also allows for the development of other new vehicle variants and system features later.The joint Finnish-Latvian research and development organization will direct and supervise development work, in which Finland will act as the leading country.
Patria is an international provider of defence, security and aviation life cycle support services, pilot training and technology solutions. Patria provides its aerospace and military customers with equipment availability, continuous performance development as well as selected intelligence, surveillance and management system products and services. Patria has several locations including Finland, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Estonia and Spain. Net sales totaled EUR 507.5 million in 2019, and Patria employs 3,000 professionals. Patria is owned by the State of Finland (50.1%) and Norwegian Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace AS (49.9%).
