A street at the Zalaegerszeg plant of Rheinmetall Hungary Zrt., a joint venture co-owned by Rheinmetall and the Hungarian state, was officially renamed “Rheinmetall Út” at a ceremony on 23 May 2023. Present at the event were representatives from the Group as well as Zoltán Balaicz, the city’s mayor, and other guests of honour. Dr Imke Nora Kellner, CEO of Rheinmetall Hungary Zrt., emphasized how “…our investment here is powering economic growth in the region and creating good jobs for skilled workers at our Hungarian suppliers. In future we’ll be developing, producing and maintaining cutting-edge armoured vehicles, contributing to security and freedom in Europe.”

A modern development, production and testing centre is currently going up at the site, with around 350 new jobs and potential for growth in surface area and technology. The focus is on developing and manufacturing state-of-the-art tracked and wheeled armoured vehicles for the Hungarian armed forces, particularly the new Lynx infantry fighting vehicle. Low-rate initial production began in January of this year. High safety standards protect the plant’s neighbours from noise and hazards, with even the smallest amounts of mostly practice ammunition for function testing kept in secure underground storage facilities, and ballistic testing confined to an underground shooting tunnel.  There will be no above-ground ballistic tests or test detonations, nor will test drives take place on public roads in Zalaegerszeg.

The Düsseldorf-based technology enterprise’s numerous local initiatives not only reflect its commitment to the community, but also its strategic goal of achieving Groupwide CO2 neutrality by 2035.  As Andreas Baumeier, chief operations officer of Rheinmetall Hungary Zrt., explains, “We take our technological and social responsibilities very seriously, which is why we invest in innovative products and technologies, but also in sustainable operations and in reducing C02 emissions through the use of renewable energy sources.”

Now underway, the first expansion of the plant therefore includes installation of solar panels, and trees have already been planted along Rheinmetall Ùt, with more to follow around the grounds. In future, most company cars will be either electric or hybrid, while vehicles confined to the plant (such as forklifts, logistic, security and pool vehicles) already operate in an environmentally friendly, sustainable manner. 

At the end of the ceremony, Michael Stolze, CFO of Rheinmetall Hungary Zrt., noted that “The street name Rheinmetall Út isn’t just an honour for us. It also underscores the cooperative and long-term nature of our working relationship, now and in future. We would thus like to take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks to the local authorities and their representatives for supporting our endeavour!”

The NIOA Group has inked a partnership with Australia’s peak engineering body, reinforcing its commitment to develop a pipeline of weapons and munitions professionals “mission ready” to support sovereign capability.

NIOA Australia General Manager – Engineering Rudi Bekker says the company’s newly minted Engineering Workforce Credentialing (EWC) partnership with Engineers Australia (EA) will create a pathway to membership and follow-on chartership including fellow and executive membership for eligible engineers.

Young engineer Schalk Laubscher is among the NIOA Group’s Australian-based weapons and munitions technical cohort.

The EWC program represents the full cross-section of the NIOA Group’s technical workforce advancing expertise for both young and experienced engineers plus Technologists and Associates.

NIOA Australia’s engineering workforce has quadrupled in recent years as the company manages some significant defence contracts including Tranche 1 of the LAND 159 Lethality Systems program and a growing list of medium and large calibre munitions contracts including the LAND 17-1C.2 Future Artillery Ammunition, LAND 400 Phase 2 Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles and Abrams Main Battle Tank.

An equally impressive technical line-up at US-based Barrett Firearms provides the NIOA Group with global reach across the Pacific and a shared commitment to quality, innovation, loyalty, and mission.

NIOA Australia has committed to building a $50m small arms factory in either Brisbane, Lithgow in New South Wales, or Benalla in Victoria if it secures Tranche 2 of LAND 159. This would lead to yet another significant increase in NIOA Australia’s engineering team.

Significant growth is also anticipated for the Australian Missile Corporation (AMC), an independently-operated company within the NIOA Group.

As a sovereign enterprise partner for the Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) Enterprise, AMC expects to grow its engineering workforce to support the Enterprise in the establishment of a domestic manufacturing capability.

The Commonwealth Government has committed $4.1b after the Defence Strategic Review prioritised missile capability, including $2.5b for the domestic manufacture of longer-range munitions.

“Engineering forms an integral part of the Fundamental Inputs to Capability (FIC) and will be key to establishing an asymmetrical advantage needed to make the speed of relevance relevant,” Mr Bekker said.

“NIOA’s EWC partnership with Engineers Australia reinforces our commitment to develop a sustainable and growing workforce to answer to the government’s call for acceleration in areas of strategic capabilities.

“It will provide both membership and Chartered recognition for Professional engineers, Technologists and Associates across the NIOA Group of companies.”

The EWC program credentials engineers, including to become a Chartered Engineer  – the highly regarded credential which is recognised internationally as a measure of excellence.

Engineers Australia CEO Romilly Madew AO said: “Chartered Engineers are recognised throughout the world for their skills and their professionalism. I congratulate NIOA on their commitment to credential their engineers against global engineering standards of practice.”

As a young professional engineer, Schalk Laubscher now forms an integral part of a collective half-a-millennium years’ of bespoke weapons and munitions engineering experience in NIOA Australia’s engineering-technical cohort.

The 25-year-old graduated from the University of Queensland (UQ) in 2020 with a Bachelor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

During his time at university, he was the founding member of UQ Space which competed against other university teams from around Australia and New Zealand in designing, building, and launching sounding rockets to altitudes of up to 30,000 feet.

NIOA Group CEO Robert Nioa said: “We are seeing a huge demand for engineers and technologists of varying disciplines and experience.

“The growth of the business has created new employment opportunities. Engineering is just one field where there are exciting openings for highly-skilled young professionals like Schalk.

“The partnership with Engineers Australia will be critical to achieving a roadmap for upskilling the engineering team who in turn will be supporting advanced sovereign defence manufacturing.

“The NIOA Group is committed to growing our industrial base well into the future both in terms of capability and workforce.”

Established in regional Queensland in 1973, the NIOA Group is Australia’s largest privately-owned company supplying firearms, weapons, ammunition and technical support and advice to military, law enforcement and commercial markets.