QinetiQ

From Wikicompany

QinetiQ Ltd. is a British military technology company.

As a privatised company, QinetiQ is now one of the largest defence research organisations in the world. QinetiQ is expected to float on the London Stock Exchange in early 2006.

Products

While part of DERA, the defence research sites that now form QinetiQ carried out testing, research and development, including the invention of

• Liquid crystal displays
• Technology for flat panel speakers
• Microwave radar
• Chobham armour
• Thermal imagers

In recent years QinetiQ has also developed software products, especially those for the defence and security industries.

Subsidiaries

• Westar
• Foster-Miller
• Apogen
• Verhaert Design and Development NV
• Broadreach Networks Limited

Organisation

The QinetiQ group has been split into three major divisions since April 2005:

• Defence and Technology,
• Security and Dual Use,
• North America - contains the North American acquisitons listed below.

Locations

The major sites are at Farnborough, Hampshire (the historical Royal Aircraft Establishment) and Malvern, Worcestershire (the historical RSRE), each having more than 2,000 employees. Trials aircraft are flown out of Boscombe Down. The total number of UK employees is believed to be around 9,000 (figures as of April 2005).

History

The company was created out of the greater part of the government agency DERA when it was split up in June 2001.

The Chief Executive at inception to the present day is Sir John Chisholm.

When QinetiQ was created, the announcement by Defence Minister Lewis Moonie said that company would become, and remain, a British company based in the UK. The Ministry of Defence would retain a 'Special Share' in the company, and safeguards will be in place to prevent conflicts of interest.

In February 2003, the U.S. private equity firm the Carlyle Group acquired a 33.8% share in the company.

In September 2004 QinetiQ acquired the U.S. defence companies Westar and Foster-Miller.

In August 2005 QinetiQ announced that it would acquire Apogen Technologies, Inc., pending regulatory approval. The QinetiQ website lists this merger as costing $288.0m (£162.7m).

In September 2005 QinetiQ acquired a 90% share of Verhaert Design and Development NV (VDD), the leading Belgian space systems integrator.

In October 2005 QinetiQ acquired Broadreach Networks Limited, a leading supplier of WiFi Internet to the European railway.

Relations to other articles — Click (+) to find similar articles.
QinetiQ  has parent  Carlyle Group (+)
QinetiQ  has subsidiary  Westar (+), Foster-Miller (+), Apogen (+), Verhaert Design and Development (+), and Broadreach Networks (+)
QinetiQ  company  (+)
QinetiQ  in sector  (+)
QinetiQ  in region  (+), (+), (+), and (+)

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Attributes of QinetiQ — Click (+) to find similar articles.
of type: manufacturing (+), and research (+)
founding year: 2,001 (+)
number of employees: 10,000 (+)

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