European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company
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European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) is a large European industrial corporation of the aerospace business, formed by the merger on July 10, 2000 of Arospatiale-Matra of France, Dornier GmbH and DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG (DASA) of Germany, and Construcciones Aeronuticas SA (CASA) of Spain.
As of 2003, EADS employs more than 100,000 people at 70 production sites worldwide. Legally incorporated in Amsterdam, the corporation's headquarters are located in Paris, France, and in Ottobrunn, south of Munich, Germany.
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Management
EADS operates with two co-CEO's, one French and one German, currently Philippe Camus and Rainer Hertrich. Nol Forgeard, current Airbus chief, has been nominated* by Arnaud Lagardre as the next French CEO. Lagardre has this responsibility as a result of the negotiations which created EADS. DaimlerChrysler has nominated Thomas Enders as Hertrich's successor.
Similarly the leadership of the board of directors is shared between two co-chairmen: Lagardre and Manfred Bischoff.
(* The appointment of Forgeard has met with resistance from DaimlerChrysler due to his proposal that the status quo of co-CEOs should be replaced with a single chief executive, what DaimlerChrysler sees as an attempt to impose a French-dominated management team. Forgeard's nomination is understood to have been at the urging of the French government.)
History and activities
EADS was formed by its member companies in July 2000, to become the world's second largest aerospace company (after Boeing). EADS is also the second-largest European arms manufacturer (after BAE Systems.) The company develops and markets civil and military aircraft, as well as missiles, space rockets, and related systems.
In November 2003, EADS announced that it was considering working with Japanese companies, and the Japanese METI, to develop a hypersonic airliner intended to be a larger, faster, and quieter, replacement for the Concorde, which was retired in October the same year.
EADS is a major contributor to the International Space Station, and is expected to deliver Columbus in 2007 through its subsidiary EADS SPACE Transportation.
Subdivisions
- Airbus S.A.S.
EADS owns 80% of Airbus in a joint ownership with BAE Systems which owns the remaining 20% (May 2004). Airbus headquarters are located in Toulouse, France. - Military Transport Aircraft
- Shareholder in Airbus Military, developer and manufacturer-to-be of the A400M – competitor to Lockheed Martin's Hercules
- Airbus military applications – e.g. A310 MRTT and A330 MRTT conversions
- Aeronautics
EADS Socata, manufacturer of small aircraft - EADS SPACE
- 100% shareholder in satellite company EADS Astrium (after buying out BAE Systems' 25% stake on 30 January 2003). Astrium is based in Toulouse, France, and the CEO is Antoine Bouvier. The number of employees, as of 2004, is 6092, spread among four countries: France (2445; 40%), UK (2136; 35%), Germany (1279; 21%), and Spain (232; 4%).
- 100% shareholder in EADS SPACE Transportation, responsible for the Ariane launchers and orbital systems such as Columbus. The CEO is Herv Guillou.
- 100% shareholder in EADS SPACE Services, formed mostly from Paradigm Secure Communications Ltd, a defence satellite operator for the UK MoD (operating the Skynet 5 system)
- 28% shareholder in space transport operator Arianespace (largest commercial shareholder)
- CEO is Franois Auque.
- Defence and Security Systems
- Defence Electronics, the sensors and avionics house of EADS
- Military Aircraft, including products such as the Mako/HEAT, and stakes in the following companies:
- Dassault Aviation (45.76%), manufacturer of fighters and other military aircraft
- Eurofighter GmbH (46%), manufacturer of Eurofighter Typhoon.
- eurocopter (100% ownership), manufacturer of light and medium civil and military helicopters. The CEO is Fabrice Brgier and the headquarters are in Marignane, France.
- Missiles
- MBDA (37.5%)
- LFK
- Defence and Communications Systems, electronics/software system house
- Services
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Shareholders
As of 31 December 2004, about one-third of EADS stock is publicly traded in six European stock markets and the rest is divided among three major business entities.[1] (http://www.eads.com/xml/content/OF00000000400004/1/69/29666691.gif)[2] (http://www.eads.com/frame/lang/en/1024/xml/content/OF00000000400004/6/03/31000036.html)
![[1]](http://www.eads.com/xml/content/OF00000000400004/1/69/29666691.gif){kind=link}
- Publicly traded: 34.08% (Includes 3.55% held by EADS employees, .06% held by French government, and .78% held by EADS itself. Traded on Paris, Frankfurt, Madrid, Bilbao, Barcelona and Valencia stock exchanges.)
- DaimlerChrysler: 30.2%
- SOGEADE: 30.2% (50% French government body, SOGEPA and 50% Dsirade)
- SEPI: 5.52% (Spanish state holding company)
On July 17, 2004 The Economist reported that the three major shareholders, DaimlerChrysler, SOGEADE and SEPI, intend to sell their shares by 2006–2007. DaimlerChrysler would like extra capital to invest in its core activities, the Lagardre Group (controls Dsirade) wants to withdraw from defence aerospace, and the French government is pursuing privatisation where appropriate.
Criticism
Like any large industrial conglomerate which manufactures weaponry, EADS has been subjected to criticism. Alleged wrongdoings include:
- The delivery of weapons to non-NATO countries without due consideration for the political situation and the economic consequences and to countries where there exists an on-going arms race.
- Using bribes in order to further sales in South Africa.
- Engendering the threat of a trade war when specific bids are rejected (e.g. the case of the Republic of Korea's F-15K Strike Eagle competition).
See also
External links
- Corporate website (http://www.eads.com)
- Yahoo! - European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company EADS N.V. Company Profile (http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/101/101208.html)
- Firm considers 'son of Concorde' (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3231354.stm) – As reported by BBC News, 23 November 2003
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