Scania to supply French army
Scania to supply French army Scania is to become the first foreign supplier of vehicles to the French defence authorities. The Scania heavy tractor was displayed for the first time in French army livery at this year's well-attended Eurosatory 2000 military trade show in Paris. The initial delivery will consist of a batch of twelve trucks. The vehicle is of the same type as the Scania T144 CA6x4, a bonneted tractor designed for construction site applications, which Scania has already supplied to the Swedish Defence Forces. In addition, the Belgian army will take delivery of the first of a total of 26 tank haulers on order at a ceremony in Brussels this week. The vehicle is built for train weights of up to 124 tonnes. The French trucks will be equipped with the Scania GRS900 gearbox with a total of 14 speeds, including two crawler ratios. Commenting on the order, Björn Michelsen, head of Scania's Sales Engineering department, which includes Government Business, observes that the French contract represents an interesting breakthrough for Scania: "Becoming the first foreign supplier of products of this type to the French defence authorities will reinforce confidence in Scania in other markets also." Since Scania's military vehicles are based on the company's civilian models, the entire civilian component and parts range is available to them, as is Scania's global service network, which currently consists of over 1,500 service workshops in about 100 countries. This has a beneficial effect on operating and maintenance costs which, at a time of contracting defence budgets, will be of interest to increasing numbers of customers. For further information, please contact Heikki Fant, tel. +46-70-758 3059, e-mail: heikki.fant@scania.com Scania is one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks and buses for heavy transport applications, and of industrial and marine engines. With 25,800 employees and production facilities in Europe and Latin America, Scania is one of the most profitable companies in its sector. In 1999, turnover totalled SEK 47,100 million and the result after net interest income/expense was SEK 4,500 million. Scania products are marketed in about 100 countries worldwide and some 95 percent of Scania's vehicles are sold outside Sweden. Scania press releases are available on the Internet, www.scania.com ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/06/26/20000626BIT00650/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/06/26/20000626BIT00650/bit0002.pdf