Daimler-Benz aerospace chief calls for intensified partnership with the United States.

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 30, 1996--Dr. Manfred Bischoff, president and chief executive officer of Daimler-Benz Aerospace AG (Dasa, Munich), vigorously called for a more intensified transatlantic cooperation between the United States and Europe on an equal partnership basis.

This is particularly valid for industrial cooperation in the defense sector which has become an integral part of joint international responsibility and the much talked about "burden-sharing." On the occasion of the 1996 Global Air and Space Conference held by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Dr. Bischoff said on Tuesday in Washington that Dasa is interested in an intensified cooperation with partner companies in the United States. "An integrated European aerospace industry is the prerequisite of an intensified cooperation with the United States based on equal partnership. Close cooperation is needed to meet the economic challenges our dynamic industry has to face," Bischoff explained.

Furthermore, the European aerospace industry has reached a milestone as far as the question of industrial structure is concerned, the Dasa CEO said. Dr. Bischoff, who took part in the conference in his function as president of the European Association of Aerospace Industries (AECMA), pointed out that the European aerospace industry had taken many different measures to improve efficiency, become more competitive and strengthen its technological capabilities. However, such improvements have appeared not to be sufficient to entirely safeguard the future of the aerospace industry in Europe.

"Competitiveness today demands company sizes which are not to be found in Europe. Innovative technologies have engendered increases in cost and complexity which now dictate that major aerospace systems can only be developed by large and powerful companies," Dr. Bischoff said. This results in the economic necessity of European structures for the aerospace industry. As compared with the United States, this difficult process cannot be carried out that fast due to the different prevailing conditions. "The aerospace industry has been a forerunner in European integration for decades now. But integration is a process that must grow. We cannot expect that national armament questions, national foreign and security policies and national research sponsorship be Europeanized immediately. That is the reason why the Europeanization of our branch cannot be just a process involving mergers and takeovers which orientates itself solely to economic and corporate aspects," explained Dr. Bischoff.

The Dasa CEO expressed his confidence that European integration could be accelerated. "Airbus Industrie has already brought the leading European aircraft manufacturers together. More often than before European politicians and industrial leaders are making comments about which logical step we have to take next to move from the present organizational structure towards a fully independent European company where all resources are controlled and all decisions taken by one and the same management," he said.

The Dasa Chief Executive also called for a more constructive transatlantic competition. This competition had been the driving force which allowed the European industry to build the best aircraft presently available in the world market and which had been very useful to the aerospace industry as a whole. "To the transatlantic and other similar relations, however, it is of greatest importance that competition is governed by hair rules and guidelines. This involves competition and, at the same time, cooperation on a partnership basis because we have a common set of values and a successful alliance to ensure peace and freedom," said Dr. Bischoff. Competition in global markets should never end up in war, he added. In this context, Dr. Bischoff demanded the removal of existing protagonistic barriers within the aerospace industry. "Free access to and the freedom of entry into the market are indispensable for worldwide operating companies. For example, I have in mind the US defense market which is still virtually closed to outside competition." He pointed out that it was in the interest of all parties concerned to establish the rules for competition on a world basis, bringing in all the world's aircraft producers and covering all products. It is also absolutely essential to regulate government intervention in the development of new aircraft in a way to be equally effective on direct and indirect measures in order to establish a fair basis for competition in world market.

CONTACT: Daimler-Benz Aerospace of North America, Inc.

Klaus Spiegel, President

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Daimler-Benz Aerospace AG

Andreas Breitsprecher, Press and Information

011/49-89-607-34235

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