Year 2000 was a year of landmark achievements for Elbit after
its merger with El-Op-the biggest to date in the Israel's defense
industry. The process was performed smoothly and was well accepted
among the employees of both companies, as it did not involve major
layoffs. In July Elbit disclosed a restructuring plan to merge
Elbit Systems and El-Op to maximize cross-efficiencies and streamline
operations between the two companies.
"Since then, major organizational changes were implemented,
including relocation of centers of expertise between Haifa based
Elbit Systems and Rehovot based El-Op," Joseph Ackerman,
president and CEO of Elbit Systems told Show News.
"Our motto in this merger was the customer," he says.
"Our goal in restructuring the company was to eliminate duplication,
and provide one point of contact for the customer. Where duplication
or parallel operations were identified, we decided who should
take the lead."
Other aspects of the merger included consolidation of marketing
channels and technology centers responsible for maintaining and
expanding specific know-how. Duplication between competing programs
had to be eliminated, while new opportunities become relevant
for a wide range for solutions, platforms and programs. The company
is currently implementing a new information system which will
integrate all activities into a unified reporting and operation
process.
Elbit System's quarterly financial report shows significant performance
gains. The backlog of orders for March 31 topped $1.5 billion,
of which 67% relates to orders outside of Israel, as compared
with $1.44 billion at the end of 2000, of which 71% came from
orders outside of Israel.
About a quarter of Elbit's sales are generated in the U.S., where
several subsidiaries are operating, including Elbit Fort Worth.
The company recently acquired Honeywell's helmets business, which
includes helmet systems for the Boeing AH-64 Apache. Elbit is
also a leading supplier of helmet-mounted sights and night-vision
systems used by the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Army and Marines.
The next generation of helmet-mounted sight for F-15, F-16, F/A-18
and F-22 fighters is being developed in cooperation with Kaiser
Electronics, under the jointly owned subsidiary VCI. "In recent
years we established cooperation and made selective acquisitions,
where the opportunities justified such moves, by gaining access
to new markets or technologies," says Ackerman. "We are
continuing this strategy and will expand our activities both by
internal R&D and acquisitions, where we can utilize our experience
in operations with military and government clients as an added value."
The marketing activities of Elbit and Elop have also been streamlined.
"Consolidation of marketing operations of both companies
contributed to more synergistic offerings and increased marketing
potential for our company" Ackerman says. "We can now
offer a wider range of products and expertise, based on systems
and programs developed and produced in-house, in several centers
of expertise, including electronics, electro-optics, avionics,
and UAVs.
"At Le Bourget we are demonstrating, for the first time,
the whole range of products and activities under one name"
Ackerman says.
Elbit demonstrates its cooperative spirit on the sky of Le Bourget
with the flights of the modernized TAM Su-25, a joint program
between the original manufacturer -- TAM from Georgia -- and Elbit.
The Israeli firm is also a leading participant in the industry
group that built the F-16 A/B (ACE) modernization demonstrator,
which is at the center of the Israeli ground display here. Other
fruits of Elbit modernization programs here include the MiG-29
upgrading cooperation with Romanian Aerostar, and the Puma helicopter
upgrade conducted with IAR Brasov of Romania.
By Tamir Eshel
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