Production at the new Rheinmetall factory in Unterluß, Lower Saxony, will be almost completely automated, explains the head of the concern Armin Paperger in an interview with DW. According to him, this will allow 350,000 shells to be produced annually, with only 40 people working per shift. “I think this is a great novelty. And the second point is the speed. We really produce very quickly, and I think we also have the potential to increase the annual production volume. "That is, we have the power, we have the speed and ultimately we can increase deliveries thanks to automation," explains Paperger to DW.
What were the challenges associated with the construction of this factory?
A. Paperger: The challenge was in controlling the supply chain. This is very important and I thank our partners for their support. Whether it is equipment manufacturers, electronics, most of them from Germany - they all worked very quickly and I thank them for that. Otherwise it would not have been possible.
Ukraine hopes to start receiving ammunition from here very quickly - how quickly and in what quantities?
A. Paperger: The first 25,000 shells from this factory, produced this year, will be for Ukraine. Next year we will be able to produce 150,000 and more. And then - in accordance with the increase in capacity - we will reach 350,000. We are talking about shells for Germany and for Ukraine. Therefore, I think that next year we will be able to deliver at least 100,000 to Ukraine, and then probably - 200,000. The remaining quantity is intended for other partners.
You are also building a similar plant in Ukraine. When will it be ready? Considering your criticism of the Ukrainian bureaucracy, can you say that the situation has improved now?
A. Paperger: I spoke about this issue with the new Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Denys Shmygal, and I told him that he should hurry up. I told him: “Mr. Minister, look what can be done in 14 months“. Even before we started planning things for production in Unterluß, we had already planned the plant in Ukraine. But there is no plant in Ukraine yet. So let me say – we could work even better“.
In your opinion, when can production start in Ukraine?
A. Paperger: First of all, we need a concept to build everything. The civilian part is not ready yet. I believe that the minister will take care of this so that the ammunition production plant is ready in 12-14 months.
Germany is currently financing the production of long-range weapons in Ukraine. Germany is providing money, Ukraine is using its own technology. But there was also talk of cooperation and know-how between German and Ukrainian defense companies. What does this mean for “Rheinmetall“?
A. Paperger: We cooperate a lot with the Ukrainians, we have good partnership relations with the defense industry of Ukraine, with smaller companies. I appreciate this and I think this is a good opportunity for both countries - for the industries of Germany and Ukraine.
You mentioned that “Rheinmetall“ also produces drones. Do you have any plans to invest in the production of drones in Ukraine?
A. Paperger: We are also considering this idea. The question is whether there are good opportunities for this. We are not interested in the production of very small quadcopters, etc. - we are interested in technologies and larger drones. If there are opportunities, we will do that too.
Author: Roman Goncharenko