UMS SKELDAR has announced the acquisition of Hirthmotoren GmbH & Co. KG (Hirth Motors), a German-based specialist global engine manufacturer for air, water and land applications including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The announcement provides UMS SKELDAR with its own engine manufacturing capability as well as a list of customers that includes RUAG, Switzerland; EMT, Fresh-Breeze, PF Pumpen and Ziegler GmbH Firefighting Equipment, Germany; MartinUAV and Recreational Power Engineering, US; Denel, South Africa; TMI K.Toivanen, Finland; China Hovercraft Company, China.
As a provider of 2-stroke engine products and technologies, the Hirth business includes research, development and manufacturing from its site at Benningen, near Stuttgart, Germany with global sales co-ordinated from Vienna, Austria.
Hirth has manufactured and sold more than one million engines since it was established and has been a pioneer of the 2-stroke engine for 60 years, with a track record of 30 years in the UAV sector.
Additionally, Hirth has earned a reputation for innovation across a range of UAV engine classes and specifications, including development of advanced technology to create consumer off the shelf (COTS) propulsion systems to meet the demanding requirements of the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) market. The partnership between UMS SKELDAR and Hirth has also enabled the flagship SKELDAR V-200 rotary UAV to pioneer dependable heavy fuel engines, the first in its class to meet NATO’s one-fuel policy to eliminate gasoline for safety and logistics reasons.
According to Axel Cavalli-Bjorkman, CEO of UMS SKELDAR: “We are pleased to have brought this acquisition to completion and are excited to add Hirth’s research and innovation talent to our team. This acquisition provides us with the opportunity to gain world-class experience in the highly competitive aerospace sector focused on the UAV market. It is a logical extension of our strategy to further develop our leading position as a pioneer of the heavy fuel engine at the heart of our rotary UAV VTOL platforms.”
“We remain absolutely committed to all Hirth customers, who will continue to receive professional support from one of the most respected engine manufacturers in the various classes, markets and applications served.”
Hirth Motors is a privately held company that has been producing 2-stroke engines in Germany since 1917. Their products are used in a number of applications including: ultra-lights, powered parachutes, gyrocopters, hovercraft, water pumps, APUs, and UAVs. Hirth is currently flying on several high-end global UAV platforms and has been advancing its engine technology to improve performance and reliability for the UAV market.
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