Kitron signs manufacturing agreement with Kongsberg

"This is a very important agreement for Kitron with significant potential," says Kitron CEO Jørgen Bredesen, and mention Kongsberg's newly won framework agreement with the U.S. Army for their version of the RWS M153 CROWS (Common Remotely Weapon Stations). The agreement Kongsberg Protech Systems (KPS) has entered into with Kitron's subsidiaries in Arendal, Norway and the U.S. means that Kitron is the preferred supplier of electronics to KPS. "The agreement is central in the build up of our new business in the U.S. We are beginning to see the results of the strategic decision we made when we opened the factory in the U.S. last year," continues Bredesen. For Kitron's factory in Johnstown, Pennsylvania the CROWS program alone is expected to generate annual revenues of approximately NOK 60 million (8.22 million euros) over the next five years. Volume depends on needs and the annual budgetary procedure in the United States, and might therefore be both lower and higher. In addition, the agreement will give orders related to programs other than CROWS. "This is a lighthouse contract. The fact that we are now Kongsberg Protech's main supplier confirms Kitron's competitiveness in Europe as well as in the U.S.," says Bredesen.