Military Technology 06/2021

66 · MT 6/2021 Interview SW: That’s a good question. We are already involved, and we will contin- ue to be so, in lighter vehicles. Today, on our Horstman company side, we have suspensions for lightweight vehicles up through the heaviest of main battle tanks. We also have our stake in the BOXER vehicle, which has quite a bit of development for the export market. It’s a good fit to all of our capabilities. When we go forward it’s a bit more opportunistic then, to say the strategy is clearly to consolidate our market position in tracked vehicles where we are very clearly much more competitive and much stronger in our positioning. There are not many that play in this league. Our strategy is to evolve to a full system integrator for multi-grade power packs, with the cooling systems, engines, suspensions and other components. For the OEM, that is the only way to go. TT: Our Magnet-Motor company in Germany offers very elegant, yet very compact solutions for export power, including start-up generators, that were developed and qualified on a tactical vehicle, and now is on the HAWKEI light four-wheel drive protected mobility vehicle in Australia. That is a very smart design, affordable and of great interest in the US. MilTech: RENK Group is in many sectors beyond defence – in aviation, transportation and others. Tell us about the cross-fertilisation, the flow of enabling technologies, between defence and these adjacent business sectors. SW: While there’s a diversity of products, our aim is the same, to provide our customers with the best possible solutions, products and technolo- gy. These activities are very much focused on what the customers need, what is required in the market, and there’s a lot of cross technology flow, for instance, electrification and hybrid drive technologies, which are a de- velopment and requirement for every sector. There’s a likely exchange among all the parties, especially in defence, when it comes to combat vehicles in the various subsidiaries of the RENK Group – RENK America, Horstman, Magnet-Motor and RENK Test System. MilTech: And RENK Group’s roadmap for the next 12-18 months in terms of projected new products, partnerships and such? TT: 12-18 months is a very short time for combat vehicles, but we are moving very quickly. Most important, within your time frame of 12-18 months, we will have a fully-working prototype in our shop that will be demonstrating a hybrid drive solution made by RENK on an engine, and to recall, we are engine-agnostic. It will have a start-up generator, export power and a German-designed transmission made in the US. And we remain open-minded for the modular and scalable architecture. Any cus- tomer, any prime contractor that would like to see that demonstration, can come and see it in Muskegon. MilTech: Thank you for a brief but thorough explanation of RENK Group’s programmes and plans. Busy exploiting the recent opening of the RENK USA business and quickly expanding the corporation’s portfolio, Susanne Wiegand (SW – Chairwoman of RENK Group) and Ted Trzesniowski (CEO of RENK America) found time to talk with Mönch North American Bureau Chief, Marty Kauchak. MilTech: Can you give us an update on where we’ll find RENK Group products and services being used in the land warfare domain? Susanne Wiegand: Roughly 70% of our revenue is in defence. Thanks to this July’s acquisition of Muskegon, MI-based L3 Harris Technologies Combat Propulsion Systems, which was relabeled RENK America, the dominant defence portfolio part is now in the land business side. These are mobility solutions for ground combat vehicles, predominately tracked vehicles. We’re providing transmissions, and we also can integrate power technology solutions with any engine the customer may wish, and we deem is the right solution for the specific requirement and project. Our Horstman Group provides suspensions and our Magnet-Motor company has all of the capabilities for electrification, and, in particular, hybrid drive solutions, which is increasingly the wave of the future. We’re the technol- ogy leader for mobility solutions for the armies of the world. And we have a business unit for naval propulsion. Ted Trzesniowski: We’re also in more than 30 countries with our offer- ings. To give you a couple of platforms that we are operating as a global organisation, from the US and being supported by RENK America, we have platforms like the M60 [MBT] which has been exported to 20-plus countries. Also, in the US, the BRADLEY uses our transmission. And we have content in the US on the M777 towed howitzer, M270 MLRS, AMPV, M109A7 PIM artillery system and others. In Europe, in Germany, France and the UK, we are on so many platforms, including LEOPARD, also in service in 19 nations, and on BOXER and PUMA – among many others – for own-nation and export purposes. We estimate we’re on more than 35,000 platforms worldwide – and that only on the ground vehicle side, with more platforms on the naval vessel side. MilTech: A number of heavy vehicles, many tracked, are in your portfo- lio – will RENK expand its customer base to include more lighter weight vehicles? “We’re the Technology Leader for Mobility Solutions” An Interview with RENK Group’s Top Brass Susanne Wiegand, Chairwoman, RENK Group and Ted Trzesniowski, CEO RENK America The transmission for the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) transmission is manufactured and supported by RENK America. Susanne Wiegand, Chairwoman of RENK Group. (All photos: RENK America) Ted Trzesniowski, CEO of RENK America.