Sarantel intensifies partnership with Elcoteq

The agreement is expected to achieve annual production savings of approximately GBP 0.5 million, with further savings possible through improvements in the manufacturing process itself. Production is expected to begin at Elcoteq in November and the Group will consolidate its UK operations from two sites to one, with an exceptional restructuring cost of approximately GBP 50'000. The outsourcing contract will also reduce the number of direct suppliers to the Group's remaining operations. David Wither, CEO of Sarantel, said: "This is an important milestone in the development of Sarantel's technology. Over the past few years we have significantly improved the manufacturing process for our antennas and by outsourcing the straightforward parts of the process we will benefit from Elcoteq's expertise, capacity and buying power. We are confident this relationship will open new doors for our technology at a time when interest in our antennas is increasing rapidly." Tomi Saario, SVP, New Sales and Business Development at Elcoteq, said: "Elcoteq looks forward to helping Sarantel move its technology to the next development stage and we are confident that we can deploy our considerable experience in high volume, low cost manufacture to help make their technology more cost effective and scalable."