EURENCO inaugurates cast PBX production workshop for I.M. shells

June 9, 2006 - EURENCO today inaugurates a workshop for the mass production of cast plastic-bonded explosive (PBX) charges for artillery, tank and mortar I.M. shells at its Sorgues plant, in the Vaucluse region of southern France.

The facility, which costs about 7 million euros, uses a new process for continuous production of cast PBX charges, called the "bi-component" process. This unique revolutionary process is protected by an international patent. Designed and developed by SNPE and EURENCO since the mid-1990s, it combines the product performance and insensitivity now required for land and naval munitions, with very competitive costs for mass-scale production.

It marks a decisive step forward in the development of Insensitive Munitions (I.M.), and meets armed forces' requirements for personnel and combat platform safety.

This new workshop joins the cast PBX facilities already operating at EURENCO's Sorgues plant for small and medium production runs.

EURENCO is the uncontested world leader in cast PBX charges for Insensitive Munitions, with more than 35 years of experience and products used in all areas: missile warheads, general purpose and penetrator bombs, and navy and army shells. With this new workshop, EURENCO further consolidates its leadership in the supply of cast PBX charges for all types of weapon systems.

About EURENCO
Founded in January 2004, EURENCO (European Energetics Corporation) is a joint subsidiary of SNPE Matériaux Energétiques (60.2%), Saab of Sweden (19.9%) and Patria of Finland (19.9%). EURENCO has annual sales exceeding 130 million euros and some 800 employees at facilities in France, Belgium and Scandinavia. EURENCO designs and manufactures a complete range of powerful energetic products for military and industrial applications (gun propellants, combustible items, high explosives and compositions, cast PBX charges for Insensitive Munitions, new energetic molecules, reactive armor systems, specialty chemicals, etc.