Under the name ONE Rheinmetall, Rheinmetall Group management has mapped out a comprehensive strategy program that lays the foundations for a new, unified corporate culture and will integrate the two sectors, Automotive and Defence, into an even more efficient alliance, according to a company release.
The purpose is to optimise cooperation between the two sectors, generally enhance group effectiveness in its areas of business, generate growth, and expand market shares.
According to the company, public perception of Rheinmetall as an innovative high-technology group will also be intensified and fine-tuned.
"With its sophisticated solutions in security and mobility, the Group is addressing two core human needs by delivering substantial contributions toward protecting society and making mobility more compatible with the needs of the environment.
"The Automotive sector has been dedicating itself increasingly to new forms of mobility which do not necessarily focus on the internal combustion engine.
"Also, the Defence sector has long ceased to be simply an 'arms manufacturer' but instead adopted an extended security concept by offering products and technologies that, tailored to present-day and future threats, ensure security in both the civilian and military sectors: laser effectors, interlinked vehicle systems, systems for property protection, for detecting drones and for the remote monitoring of aircraft operations at airports, to name but a few examples."
CEO Rheinmetall Group Armin Papperger said the vision is to become a Group that supplies leading technologies for mobility and security.
"To this end, we have launched the ONE Rheinmetall strategy program: to more effectively interlink across their divisions the capabilities of the two sectors, Automotive and Defence, to become even more efficient and generally sharpen the Group's profile, both inwardly and outwardly," he said.
Horst Binnig, Rheinmetall Group's Executive Board member in charge of Automotive said: "With the ONE Rheinmetall initiative, we are mapping out an overarching and unified strategic framework that will proactively change how people relate within the Group and pave the way for a new public perception of the enterprise as a whole".
"In the past, Rheinmetall's civilian operations especially, for instance, as a supplier of components for the automotive industry, have frequently been overshadowed by the public perception of the military equipment sector of Rheinmetall Defence, despite the fact that the Automotive sector generates around one-half of the Group's total annual sales of about €5.2 billion (2015)," Binnig said.
The rollout of the new identity will be accompanied by revamped brand architecture as reflected in the new umbrella brand: Rheinmetall Group. Under this name, Rheinmetall will in future present itself as an integrated technology group whose divisions cooperate on a wide variety of levels. This is also reflected in the names of the two sectors which will include "Rheinmetall" as family brand. Rheinmetall Defence will stay unchanged.
"Our Automotive sector KSPG will operate under the name Rheinmetall Automotive, thus reflecting membership of the Group," Binnig said.
According to Pappinger, it is becoming more and more evident just how closely mobility and security are related.
"Even now, Rheinmetall Defence is working on high-tech solutions that prevent unauthorised access to certain systems by third parties," he said.
"In future, these technologies will also be important in the automotive market when, for example, protecting vehicles from access to their control systems and preventing unauthorized intervention by hackers. Reciprocally, the Defence sector can benefit from comprehensive expertise assimilated by Rheinmetall Automotive as an auto-industry supplier, for example prototype construction using 3D printers, in automated production processes and in manufacturing processes of ultimate precision."
In its Defence sector, Rheinmetall with its new strategic focus will in future also take into account the stronger need for personal safety and security in a civilian environment. Already, the company is in close communication with public authorities and security organisations regarding threat analyses and suitable solutions. It believes it can offer leading technologies for tomorrow's security challenges today: be it in drone detection, security for electronic architectures, or new protection and vehicle technologies.