The large Spanish defense industry has sealed peace after a year and a half of business and even personal disagreements. It is a picture of unity in a period of special importance for the sector. The four companies grouped in the Tess Defence consortium, Indra, Escribano, Santa Bárbara Sistemas (a subsidiary of General Dynamics), and Sapa, certified this Tuesday that the joint venture is operating at full capacity with the goal of increasing industrial capabilities and that it needs a new boost. The business project, responsible for manufacturing the 8×8 Dragón armored vehicle, is about to complete the delivery of the one hundredth vehicle to the Armed Forces. This will happen this month, marking a milestone that seemed distant a few months ago.
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Tess went through a turbulent period not long ago with mutual accusations between companies. The management of Indra, led by Ángel Escribano, focused on Santa Bárbara and General Dynamics, with whom it refused to collaborate, and on Sapa, with harsh accusations that caused a slowdown in vehicle deliveries. But after the crisis last Easter at Indra and Escribano’s departure both from the leadership, first, and from the capital, later, there has been a turnaround in the operation of the joint venture.
Besides the production of the one hundredth vehicle, another fact demonstrating that the consortium has reached cruising speed is that in the current semester Tess Defence has already completed more 8×8 deliveries than during the entire last year. According to consortium sources, the goal of the company is that before the end of the year the Army may have received up to 122 vehicles.
The image of unity became a reality this Tuesday in Seville, at the factory producing the 8x8s. At the General Dynamics facilities in Seville, the four CEOs of the companies composing the consortium were photographed: Josep Maria Recasens (Indra), Fernando Fernández (Escribano), Alejandro Page (Santa Bárbara), and Ibón Aperribay (Sapa). “This image would have been unthinkable a year and a half ago,” notes an executive involved in the project.
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Indra leads the Tess consortium with 51.01% of the capital. General Dynamics-Santa Bárbara, Escribano, and Sapa share the rest with 16.33% each. The contract signed by Defense with the consortium includes the production of 348 combat vehicles, in this first major government order.
Indra leads the Tess consortium with 51.01% of the capital. Santa Bárbara, Escribano, and Sapa share 16.33% each
Indra took control of Tess a little over a year ago in a transaction valued at 106 million, according to the listed company’s communication to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV). Since then, the leading Spanish defense group has four directors on the corporate governing body, and the other partners have three.
Indra fulfilled its decision in Tess with the strategic plan promoted by Escribano to become the main contractor in the major projects of the Spanish defense industry. However, the move did not prevent it from creating its own division of land military vehicles, a decision that caused friction in the sector and that the new multinational leadership will have to review or confirm in the new strategic plan to be presented before the end of the year. Subsequently, Indra signed an agreement, which caused a significant stir in the sector, with the South Korean giant Hanwa, a country that is not a member of NATO.
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