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Saab's New Boss Says Get into The Euro, Go to America
"The major shift in focus at Saab, and in Sweden in general,
is the change from a domestic to an international outlook. At
Saab we have traditionally provided defense equipment for national
needs and so we had all this great stuff that nobody knew about.
Now we are into international co-operation and active in the European
Union. A vote is coming soon on the single currency and I really
hope Sweden votes yes to the euro. It will help our competitiveness
and Sweden must be a part of it."
So says Saab's new president and CEO Åke Svensson, who adds
that Saab sees itself as a technology master and hopes that that
will provide the key to America. "We have a relationship
with Boeing now," he points out, "working on the next
phase of the Swedish net defense program, together with Ericsson
and IBM. Boeing is the main supplier of net-centric systems in
the U.S. and we have an early but promising relationship with
them. I think we can supply niche products to the U.S.- not systems-of-systems,
but advanced niche products."
As Svensson restructures Saab-most noteworthy is the formation
of the Aerosystems and Aerostructures business units within Saab
Aerospace-he says there is more reshaping to come. Some observers
have pondered on the future of missile-maker Saab Bofors Dynamics
within the overall Saab Group, but Svensson says it's too valuable
to sell.
"Saab Bofors Dynamics is probably ahead of the rest of Saab
in terms of company integration and international partnerships.
They have a very broad range of programs and sales successes.
It's a very important part of Saab and there's nothing that says
we have to move out of that business."
By Robert Hewson
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