DGAP-News: OHB SE

Bremen - The Bremen-based aerospace and technology group OHB SE is expanding its service activities with the establishment of OHB Satellitenbetrieb GmbH. The purpose of the new company is to pool the Group's numerous activities and to continue specializing in the operation of satellite systems and related ground stations. Moreover, OHB Satellitenbetrieb GmbH will be managing satellite constellations and providing related services.

A preliminary contract which will be mostly executed by the new company entails the continued operation of the SAR-Lupe system until 2020. OHB System AG, a subsidiary of OHB SE, has been operating this system for more than ten years for the German federal armed forces. It is composed of five radar satellites and a ground station. The new service contract, which runs from the end of 2017 until the end of 2020, is valued at EUR 13 million.

"By pooling our service activities, we will also be able to offer our customers cost benefits and other advantages," says Dennis Winkelmann, managing director of OHB Satellitenbetrieb GmbH. "The new company gives us a solid business basis for growing OHB's satellite operation activities.

"We are seeing rising demand in the market for integrated systems together with the related operation services," explains Klaus Hofmann, a member of OHB SE's Management Board and managing director of OHB Satellitenbetrieb GmbH. "Looking ahead over the next few years, we see enormous growth potential. Additional possibilities will arise from the operation of reconnaissance systems or with telecommunications and navigation systems," Hofmann continues.

OHB Satellitenbetrieb GmbH can rely on the more than ten years of experience held by OHB System AG in this field, from which the new company will benefit. "Sharing skills and experience within the Group will not only pave the way for new applications but also create new identities," says Hofmann. "Space is where our core competence in systems business lies. However, related services and applications will ensure greater relevance for us and communicate the benefits of space to the general public."

Following on from Blue Horizon Deutschland GmbH, the establishment of OHB Satellitenbetrieb GmbH is the second subsidiary within the OHB Group with a business model focused on services.