Rohde & Schwarz Dedicates R&D Space, CEO to Step Down
Rick Nelson, Chief Editor -- Test & Measurement World, 11/17/2005 8:25:00 AM
MUNICH, GERMANY. Concurrent with the Productronica show, Rohde & Schwarz held a dedication ceremony for a new 16,000-square-meter, 35 million € R&D facility at its headquarters here. Friedrich Schwarz told the assembled gathering of employees, customers, politicians, and press members that the facility would create an optimal work environment that supports the creativity of R&S employees. The 65-year-old executive also announced that he would step down from his positions as president and CEO in January.
Dr. Edmund Stoiber, Minister President of Bavaria, congratulated the company for building the new R&D facility, calling it significant for Bavaria and for the technology industry in general. He also advocated for labor and tax policies that he said could prompt other organizations in Germany to make similar investments.
Schwarz echoed Dr. Stoiber's calls for tax and labor policy revisions but commented that the new facility emphasizes the company's commitment to Germany despite political vicissitudes. And in what represents a significant difference from typical operations in the high-tech industry worldwide, he said the billion-dollar, family-owned company remains committed to keeping production close to home. About 90% of the manufacturing, he said, is done within 100 to 150 km of the Munich headquarters--close enough for quick response to manufacturing problems but far enough to discourage undue interference in production operations.
The new R&D space will help to house the 460 new employees the company has hired since its 2002/2003 fiscal year plus the 200 additional employees it expects to hire during its current fiscal year. Schwarz said the brisk pace of hiring is made possible by consistent year-on-year double-digit growth, even during the downturn following the burst of the Internet bubble. The company focuses on four areas: test and measurement, radio communications, broadcasting, and radio monitoring and location.
Schwarz predicts continuing opportunities in mobile communications, with mobile video showing particular promise. To effectively address emerging opportunities, Schwarz said the company embraces a strategy of not imitating what others have done but making a unique contribution to the company brand and to the market in general. He cited the company's avoidance of purchasing off-the-shelf chips and its development of its own hybrid ICs as evidence of what he said are its unique offerings.
With Rohde & Schwarz reporting consolidated sales of 1.1 billion € representing a 20% growth rate in the last fiscal year, Schwarz is stepping down after what, in a prepared statement, is called the most successful year in the history of the 72-year-old company, which began when the founders developed an insulation-test instrument for telephone cabling.
Rohde & Schwarz, www.rohde-schwarz.com.
