Cassidian Optronics establishes a subsidiary in Brazil to enter the local market for optical and optronic devices. Optronbras Ltda in Belo Horizonte, headed by its managing director Hans-Peter Jungbauer, is intended to serve as a point of contact for Brazilian customers and to develop technological skills inside the country.

Jungbauer explains: “Brazil is one of the major growth markets worldwide. A local presence is a prerequisite for participating in public projects, e.g. for border surveillance, mineral resources protection or for the modernisation of the armed forces. The Brazilian government is primarily interested in a long-term cooperation with foreign high-tech companies because current border and coastal protection programmes require technological skills to be established and further developed within Brazil itself.”

Optronbras will build up its own engineering and manufacturing structures, thus supporting local value creation. The company will further develop technological capabilities and create new jobs. Thanks to the service resources to be built up locally, the systems used in Brazil may be updated and brought back into operation more quickly.

“The foundation of a subsidiary for both the creation of technical customer support know-how and the production of uncooled thermal imaging cameras is a clear message which shows that we are serious about this long-term partnership. Moreover, Brazil is an excellent base location to expand our South American business,” says Ralf Klädtke, head of Cassidian Optronics.

Mr. Jungbauer is a qualified engineer who has worked in the optical industry for more than 25 years and has represented the company in Brazil for several years.

Employing about 800 staff at the German locations of Oberkochen and Wetzlar, and at Irene in South Africa, Cassidian Optronics GmbH develops and manufactures optical and optronic products which are used in military ground, sea and air systems, in border surveillance and security systems, in non-military high-tech systems and in the aerospace sector. Cassidian Optronics combines the optical and optronic precision technology from Carl Zeiss Optronics with Cassidian’s know-how as a global market leader in defence and security technology.

About CASSIDIAN Cassidian, the defence division of EADS, is a worldwide leader in defence and security solutions. The company delivers advanced defence systems along the whole action chain from sensors through command control systems to combat aircraft and unmanned air systems. In the area of security, Cassidian provides customers worldwide with border surveillance systems, cyber security solutions and secure communications. In 2012, Cassidian – with around 23,000 employees – achieved revenues of € 5.7 billion.