The Slovak defence industry will get involved in the production of the Patria 8×8 AMVXP armoured modular vehicles with local industry content as high as 60%, which significantly exceeds the minimum 40% industrial participation requirement, Defence Minister Jaroslav Na? confirmed during his visit to CSM Industry Ltd in Tisovec. Given that CSM Industry Ltd will play a major role in the production of the vehicles, the technology transfer process from Finland is currently underway. The Patria programme will bring 40 jobs to the site in Tisovec. The company has already begun to take on the first new assembly workers.
Speaking from the site in Tisovec, Defence Minister Jaroslav Na? said: “To sum up and underline the most important facts, production on the first Patria vehicle to be exclusively “made in Slovakia” will start in September. State-owned KONŠTRUKTA-Defence, the prime contractor, will participate in the project by, among other things, supplying the chassis. A number of other Slovak firms will take part in the production of the vehicles, which will bring stability to the companies in Dubnica nad Váhom and Skalica, for example. I am excited that we will bring jobs and major investments to the regions.”
“This is a significant help for the industry, the region and the engineering sector, because this is the way for the defence industry to re-emerge. Thanks to this, we will do our utmost to encourage people to come back to the region and revive it. If we look at the map of our country, what we can see is that the vehicle will be produced in Moldava nad Bodvou and Tisovec, which are situated in Slovakia’s two least developed regions,” Managing Director of CSM Industry Ltd Tomáš Maroš said.
In addition, it is carrying out dual education engagement with the secondary technical schools in Hnúš?a and Revúca. Alongside this, the company is reconstructing an assembly hall where the Patria 8×8 AMVXP vehicles will be assembled. Half of the €4m investment in the facility will come from the Finnish company. Restoring Slovakia’s defence industrial capacity has been a priority for the Slovak MOD. Therefore, they have involved the SVK defence industry in the delivery of all modernisation projects, whether it be the radar systems, the tracked armoured platforms, or, as in the case of CSM Industry Ltd, the wheeled armoured platforms – the Patria 8×8 wheeled armoured fighting vehicle.
