Engine maker Renk opens shop in Italy ahead of armor spending frenzy

ROME — German propulsion firm Renk has announced it is setting up a subsidiary in La Spezia in Italy, a week after defense giants Rheinmetall and Leonardo said they would be build tanks and infantry fighting vehicles for the Italian army in the city.

The move will put Renk in “a strategically important region,” close to “Italian customers and partners,” said the firm, which already makes gearboxes for Rheinmetall in Germany.

Opening for business in La Spezia, which is the historical home to Leonardo’s tank building operation, suggests the firm is aiming for a slice of the Italian army’s massive €23 billion ($25 billion) order for vehicles.

“With our local presence, we are moving closer to Italy’s technological and industrial base – one of the pillars of European defense. Thus, Renk is ideally positioned to meet existing and future requirements of Italian customers and partners,” says Susanne Wiegand, CEO of Renk Group AG.

Last week, Leonardo and Rheinmetall announced the creation of a joint venture with an operational base at La Spezia which would build 1,050 new infantry fighting vehicles based on the Rheinmetall Lynx and 132 main battle tanks based on the German firm’s under-development Panther KF51.

Leonardo will take 50 percent of work share, Rheinmetall in Germany is taking 40 percent with the remaining ten percent taken by Rheinmetall’s Italian facilities.

Managers have said there is ample space to build production lines at Leonardo’s La Spezia facility, which once built Ariete tanks and was run by Oto Melara, a former unit of Leonardo which has now been integrated into it.

Renk, which saw revenue of €926 million in 2023, has a product line including gear units, transmissions, power-packs and hybrid propulsion systems.

It has hired Sergio Rizzi, a former executive at Germany’s Hensoldt, as CEO of its new Italian operation and retired Adm. Pier Federico Bisconti, a former Italian deputy national armaments director, as chairman.

Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.

罗马——德国推进系统公司 Renk 宣布将在意大利拉斯佩齐亚设立子公司。一周前，国防巨头莱茵金属和莱昂纳多宣布将在该市为意大利军队建造坦克和步兵战车。

该公司表示，此举将使 Renk 处于“具有重要战略意义的地区”，靠近“意大利客户和合作伙伴”。该公司目前已在德国为莱茵金属公司生产变速箱。

在拉斯佩齐亚开业，而拉斯佩齐亚正是莱昂纳多坦克制造业务的历史所在地，这表明该公司正瞄准意大利军队高达 230 亿欧元（250 亿美元）的车辆订单中的一小部分。

“凭借我们在当地的布局，我们正与意大利的技术和工业基地——欧洲国防的支柱之一——建立更紧密的联系。因此，Renk 拥有得天独厚的优势，能够满足意大利客户和合作伙伴现有及未来的需求，”Renk 集团股份公司首席执行官 Susanne Wiegand 表示。

上周，莱昂纳多和莱茵金属宣布成立一家合资企业，在拉斯佩齐亚设立运营基地，该合资企业将生产 1050 辆基于莱茵金属“山猫”的新型步兵战车和 132 辆基于德国公司正在研发的“黑豹”KF51 的主战坦克。

莱昂纳多将占50%的工作份额，德国莱茵金属公司占40%，剩余的10%由莱茵金属公司的意大利工厂承担。

管理人员表示，莱昂纳多位于拉斯佩齐亚的工厂有足够的空间建造生产线。该工厂曾经生产 Ariete 坦克，由莱昂纳多的前子公司 Oto Melara 运营，现在已并入莱昂纳多。

Renk 公司 2023 年的收入为 9.26 亿欧元，其产品线包括齿轮箱、变速器、动力包和混合动力推进系统。

该公司聘请了德国亨索尔特公司前高管塞尔吉奥·里齐担任其意大利新业务的首席执行官，并聘请了意大利前国家军备副总监、退役海军上将皮埃尔·费德里科·比斯孔蒂担任董事长。

汤姆·金顿是《防务新闻》驻意大利记者。