Valmet Automotive expands Patria armoured vehicle production

Finnish companies Valmet Automotive and Patria are expanding their cooperation in the production of armoured vehicles.

Valmet Automotive Oyj has signed a new multi-year agreement with Patria covering the manufacture of armoured vehicles at Valmet Automotive’s Uusikaupunki plant in Finland. Under the agreement, production capacity will increase to hundreds of vehicles per year, according to the company.

The deal further strengthens the partnership between Valmet Automotive and Patria, said Pasi Rannus, chief executive of Valmet Automotive.

- We will create significant additional capacity for Patria quickly and to a high standard, reaching full capacity as early as 2027. In line with our strategy, Valmet Automotive has evolved into a company serving multiple industries, and we have secured our position within the Finnish and European defence sector.

The multi-year agreement builds on the companies’ existing cooperation on the Patria 6x6 vehicle programme and provides annual production capacity for hundreds of vehicles. The commercial value of the agreement has not been disclosed.

Technology transfer has been a central element of Patria’s business model for more than two decades and has contributed to the success of its vehicle programmes.

Under this model, armoured vehicle manufacturing expertise is transferred to selected partners. Patria says the approach improves security of supply, strengthens national industrial capacity and creates a strategic competitive advantage.

Including the wider Finnish subcontractor network, cooperation between Patria and Valmet Automotive supports employment for approximately 240 people for every 100 vehicles produced.