SEPI Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales

A solution for the future of the shipbuilding industry in S pain

The new Spanish company for military shipbuilding, Navantia, has been presented today in an act chaired by the Second Vice President of the Government and Minister of Economics and the Treasury, Mr. Pedro Solbes, together with the Chairman of the state-owned holding company the Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales (SEPI), Mr. Enrique Martínez Robles, and the Chairman of the new Company, Mr. Juan Pedro Gómez Jaén. This company for the design, manufacturing and integration of ships, basically in the military field, and which is owned by SEPI, is the result of the spin-off of Izar' s military activity and of the agreement subscribed for giving feasibility to the state-owned shipyards.

The Government' s Vice President, during his discourse, pointed to this event as the beginning of a future for the shipyards, as well as the manifestation, together with the Framework Agreement signed by SEPI, Izar and the trade unions, that the objectives set by the Government for facing the problem posed by the state-owned shipyards have been achieved, through the permanent dialogue with all the parties concerned and thanks to the rigor and the realism in the analysis and in the proposals for its resolution. Mr. Enrique Martínez Robles pointed out the support which SEPI will offer, as its only shareholder, to Navantia' s Industrial Plan, a company which he also stated continues a centuries old tradition in all the manifestations related with the Spanish Navy.

Mr. Juan Pedro Gómez Jaén, as Navantia' s Chairman, made a detailed presentation of the new company, of its activity lines, facilities, technological and production capacities, of its products, as well as about its presence in the market, both domestic and international. Also the corporate identity of this new company was presented, which will begin to be implanted in a progressive way in all the Company's graphic material, and which will be extended to the markets in which it carries out its activity. The new name intends to reflect the spirit with which it is born; Navantia is going forward, it is naval, it is modernity and it is spirit.

Over 250 years of activity in the military shipbuilding

Navantia' s lines of activity are shipbuilding, propulsion and energy, ship repairs and systems and weapons; both in the military and in the civil sectors, although to the later it can apply a maximum of 20% of its total activity. It is the direct heir to an experience which is over 250 years old in building, maintaining and transforming ships for the Spanish Navy, to whose needs and requirements it has responded, taking a very direct role in the progressive and strong efforts for the promotion of our Navy during the last 20-30 years.

Thus, this new company is born as one of the main providers of naval systems currently in the international market, with capacity for facing new constructions, maintenance and transformation; and one of the few companies with total capacity for the design, development, manufacturing, integration and logistic integrated support for platforms, propulsion and naval combat systems, and for delivering fully operative ships. It also has on offer one of the market's most comprehensive catalogue for military ships and coast guards, and the capacity for facing new projects.

The manufacturing facilities integrated into Navantia had a turnover in 2004 of over 1,100 million Euros, with exports which amounted to 564 million Euros. These work centers have a total workforce of 5,562 workers, and they are located on the bay of El Ferrol (El Ferrol and Fene), the bay of Cádiz (Cádiz, Puerto Real and San Fernando) and Cartagena, while the Head Office is in Madrid.

High technological and production capacities

Navantia has a Department for Innovation, and it carries out a significant effort in R&D&I as the key for its competitiveness and differentiation. It is a leader in the use of integrated modular building for military ships, a system which it uses in all its products, submarines included.

Its technological and production capacities have allowed Navantia's facilities to develop the most complex naval systems during the last few years. In the eighties it is worthwhile to mention the aircraft carrier Príncipe de Asturias and the FFG frigates (F-81 to 84). In the nineties, the F-85/86 frigates, the amphibious ships LPD, the combat support ship or the minesweepers, demonstrating its capacity for the design of advanced platforms and for developing on-board systems. And in the twenty first century, the ship for strategic projection and the S-80 submarines, among others, showing its innovative technological and productive capacities.

That is why Navantia is capable of meeting the requirements of the Spanish Navy, as well as for being one of the most important Spanish export companies, with products such as the aircraft carrier built for Thailand; the most modern frigate in Europe, as the one which is being developed for Norway, and conventional submarines, which are being built for Chile and for Malaysia. Thus, the new company is currently taking part in the military programs in Chile, Norway and Malaysia, besides that of Spain.

Navantia also carries out a policy of collaboration with other companies, both domestic and international, it has strategic alliances and for product for the design and marketing of projects, and it cooperates in innovation with well-known technologists. At the moment it participates in the Afcon consortium, together with the US companies Bath Irons, the US Navy main shipyard, and with Lockheed Martin, the world leader in the development and design of combat systems. Equally, with the French DCN, it participates in a consortium for the development of the Scorpene submarines.

Navantia has a comprehensive product line, such as aircraft carriers and amphibious ships, which has allowed it to develop the strategic projection ship, one of the most competitive in the world today. One of its star products is the F-100 frigate, for the Spanish Navy, with the bet relationship in performance, displacements and costs in the world; which has originated the biggest naval innovation program in Spain and which has generated a significant international industrial cooperation, as well as a family of ships with cutting-edge technology derived for their export. It also is consolidating itself as a designer and integrator of conventional submarines.

Background

The Council of Ministers on July 30th, 2004, authorized Izar to incorporate this new company, with the goal of facing the crisis at the state-owned shipyards, basically due to the serious financial position through which was Izar itself, and, also, by the need to return the aids received and which were incompatible with Community Law, giving an independent treatment, thanks to its special characteristics, to the shipbuilding military activity, within the European legal framework. The Agreement subscribed with the trade unions on December 16th, 2004, opened the way for finding a solution and a future for Izars' shipyards; both for the civil ones, thanks to the entry into them of private capital, and for the military shipyards, integrated into NAVANTIA.

The new company was incorporated, with the interim name of New Izar, with the goal of integrating Izar's military activity and of carrying out a complementary activity in the civil market, once an action plan which complied with the Community Law were agreed. On December 17th, 2004, after the signing of the Agreement, SEPI's Board of Directors authorized Izar to transfer all the corresponding assets to New Izar, as well as the subsequent acquisition by this state-owned holding company. Last January, SEPI acquired to Izar all the participations in New Izar, now Navantia, which was inscribed in the Trade Register.