Rheinmetall and Supashock announce global partnership
Rheinmetall has today announced a further strengthening of its partnership with Supashock through the agreement to acquire forty nine percent of the Australian based company. The Rheinmetall Defence – Supashock partnership will help drive growth in both companies through the development of new suspension and load handling technologies which will improve the performance and safety of Rheinmetall’s vehicle product portfolio.
The agreement between Supashock and Rheinmetall Defence takes the partnership between the two companies to a new level shortly after the parties announced a collaboration to develop and manufacture a revolutionary military suspension and integrated intelligent load handling system for Rheinmetall’s range of military trucks.
Supashock creates state of the art active suspension for motorsport and automotive applications to improve performance, safety and ride quality, while Rheinmetall Defence is the largest supplier of military vehicles to the Australian Defence Force. Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles (RMMV) provided funding to Supashock in May 2017 to develop an integrated active suspension system and intelligent load handling system for the Australian and international markets that will substantially increase the capability and safety of RMMV’s military trucks in demanding on and off-road environments.
Through comparative testing, Supashock’s suspension technology has been shown to substantially improve the mobility of Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles (RMMV) trucks, while at the same time enhancing on-road safety and reducing the shock and vibration experienced by the load the truck is carrying.
Rheinmetall sees broad application of the integrated intelligent load handling system and Supashock’s suspension technology on both Australian and international programs as it will deliver a real capability edge to customers.
Ben Hudson, Executive Board Member of Rheinmetall Defence and Head of Vehicle Systems, said “Rheinmetall saw significant future potential in the technology being developed by Supashock for the local and international market. This partnership will deliver real benefits for the Australian economy through the accelerated generation of local jobs, while creating substantial export opportunities for Supashock.”
“Just as the technology provides a step change in the performance of both our tactical and logistic vehicles, we see the close co-operation between the companies as a platform for an integrated approach towards the global expansion of Supashock into the military and commercial vehicle markets,” Mr Hudson said.
Oscar Fiorinotto, Managing Director and founder of Supashock, said “The partnership with Rheinmetall would help underpin Supashock’s future growth while creating highly skilled, enduring jobs in South Australia and delivering significant performance improvements to our customers.”
“Our focus is shifting from a technology development phase to the start of an accelerated growth period and we welcome Rheinmetall as a partner that can enable access to new international markets and provide the capital needed to drive this growth,” Mr Fiorinotto said.
