$20 Million Transformation of Dartmouth Site

On the heels of contract awards for the Hull Mounted Sonar (HMS) and Variable Depth Sonar (VDS) subsystems on the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) programme, Ultra Group is making a significant additional strategic commitment to Canada, allocating potentially in excess of $20 million (€13.5 million) of new investment to transform its Dartmouth, NS site into a global sonar centre of excellence.

The Dartmouth facility will be significantly modernised, reconfigured for expanded capacity, and networked to Ultra’s other sonar sites in the UK and Australia. These enhancements will provide for the world-class sonar capability being delivered to CSC, as well as sonar systems on other Canadian naval programmes. They will further provide the necessary infrastructure for additional growth in sonar exports to Ultra’s core ‘Five-Eyes’ markets, leveraging the company’s already significant successes in providing sonar capabilities to major international navies.

As part of this investment, Ultra will also be upgrading areas of its facility involved in sonobuoy production – an activity which commenced in Nova Scotia in 1947. Ultra is Canada’s sovereign sonobuoy supplier, exporting sonobuoys to a number of allied nations, and is expecting increased demand and staffing levels in this area.

Simon Pryce, Ultra Chief Executive, noted “Ultra’s mission is to innovate today for a safer tomorrow. Our investment into a new sonar centre of excellence is a key part of supporting the important Canadian Surface Combatant programme, and preparing our business for further growth in international sonar systems well into the future.”