THALES Deutschland celebrates 60 years at the Koblenz location

The Koblenz location of Thales Germany is celebrating a special anniversary these days: The branch has been in existence on the rivers Rhine and Moselle for 60 years, and for just as long, it has maintained good relationships with the strategic customer Bundeswehr.

From Koblenz, Thales Germany supports the armed forces in the preparation and debriefing of missions with specialized simulation solutions that allow different users, such as air and combat vehicle crews or infantry forces, to train their skills and improve their capabilities. Simulation technology has been developed, produced, and distributed here for more than 30 years. This includes simulators for marksmanship training, military pilot training, as well as related services. Simulations play a key role in handling, procedures, behavior, and communication training in all operational areas and at all mission levels, making an essential contribution to the training and education of operational forces and ultimately to mission success.

The systems range from traditional marksmanship training to complete mission training for vehicle crews on air, water, and/or land vehicles, as well as individual and collective training for military users and civilian security authorities: Small Arms Trainer, Doorgunner training concept, weapon-specific basic training, mission-specific scenarios, evaluation and analysis capabilities, traffic control systems, communication surveillance and jamming simulation systems. The individual simulation systems can be used both individually and in a networked and combined training scenario as a complete system. As the provider of these simulation systems and training services used worldwide, Thales Germany offers central support to all customers.

60 years ago, the Thales Germany location in Koblenz began its activities with service services for radar systems. This includes, for example, maintenance management for airspace surveillance radars or obsolescence management for avionics components. In addition, Thales Germany offers services in the maintenance and repair of large-scale facilities for civilian and military applications.

"In our fast-paced times, it is very special for a company to look back on such a history with its long-term customer relationships. I congratulate the colleagues of Thales Germany at the Koblenz location on this anniversary and thank them wholeheartedly for their dedication. Koblenz has a lot to offer: urban life and culture, diverse leisure and sports activities, a broad and excellent educational offer - for example, the city is home to one of the youngest universities in Germany, the University of Koblenz - factors that are important for a business location. Koblenz is an IT city, which is of great importance to us as a technology company. Whether for networking, exchanging information, or recruiting qualified employees. This connection exists not only to Koblenz but also to our strategic customer Bundeswehr, with whom we have been working in partnership for 60 years."

Oliver Dörre, CEO of Thales Germany.

Background 60 years of Thales Germany in Koblenz

Koblenz, the third-largest city in Rhineland-Palatinate, with its over 2,000 years of history at the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle rivers, is one of the oldest cities in Germany. The city is an important industrial and scientific location and serves as a central hub for various administrative authorities of the state and of the Mayen-Koblenz district. Significant federal authorities are located here: the Federal Archives, established here in 1952, or the Federal Office for Equipment, Information Technology, and Use of the Bundeswehr (BAAINBw), which was formed in 2012 through the merger of the Federal Office for Information Management and Information Technology with the Federal Office for Defense Technology and Procurement (BWB).

In 1963, BWB concluded a contract with the French company BRONZAVIA for ERB radio systems, laying the foundation for the Thales branch in Koblenz. BRONZAVIA set up a repair plant at the Koblenz site, CITAIR Elektronik GmbH. From the small maintenance plant with 30 employees, THOMSON-CSF Elektronik-Wartungsgesellschaft developed in 1970 - then the only German branch of the French defense electronics group. With the development of the German-French air defense missile system ROLAND, the Koblenz branch became the primary service provider for the maintenance, modification, and retrofitting of the German ROLAND systems.

In 1992, the development of proprietary products began with SASIE, a system analysis and evaluation unit for complex weapon systems of the German Navy. This development policy consistently focused on performance improvement and new technologies.

By 1989, Thomson-CSF had outgrown its French roots. With acquisitions and investments in Europe, Australia, Asia, South Africa, the Middle East, North and South America, the position as a global player was consolidated. At the end of 2000, the new direction was reflected in a name change: Thomson-CSF became Thales. The Koblenz location is now assigned to the globally operating Training & Simulation business unit, which has further branches in France, Australia, UK, and Switzerland.

About Thales

Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) is a global leader in high technology in three areas: defense and security, aerospace, and digital identity and security. The company develops products and solutions that contribute to making the world safer, greener, and more inclusive.

The group invests almost €4 billion annually in research and development, especially in key areas such as quantum technology, edge computing, 6G, and cybersecurity.

Thales has 77,000 employees in 68 countries. In 2022, the group generated revenue of €17.6 billion.

Thales Germany, headquartered in Ditzingen, is one of the largest national organizations in the Thales Group and has around 2,000 employees at a total of nine locations with its own production and development. In 2022, Thales Germany achieved a turnover of around 500 million euros - mostly from German value creation. Established in Germany for over 140 years, Thales Germany is a recognized part of the German high-tech industry, offering its customers in Germany and abroad state-of-the-art, highly secure and available reconnaissance, radar, communication, information, and control systems, as well as services for secure land, air, and sea traffic, as well as for civilian and military security and protection requirements. In addition, Thales Germany has a comprehensive portfolio of IT solutions for cybersecurity. The company also manufactures and develops satellite components at its Ulm site.

Thales Germany is committed to the sustainable business success of its customers and maintains trustworthy partnerships worldwide with customers as well as with local and international technology and research partners.

THALES in Germany