With complaint: Heckler & Koch assault rifle-procurement stops for the time being

With Complaint
Heckler & Koch stops assault rifle procurement for the time being

For 60 years the German armed forces continued to assault rifles from Heckler & Koch. This should soon be brought to an end, in a bidding process, the company drew the short straw. But the Armory is pulling all the legal stops to pull the job is still in the country.

In the dispute with the Federal government, the weapons manufacturer Heckler & Koch has taken another legal step in order to get a assault rifle-a large order of the Federal government.

You have submitted an application for a review procedure, informed the company of Oberndorf in the black forest on Tuesday. So, an application is also called a procurement complaint, he shall have a suspensive effect – the Neubewaffnung the army, 120 000 storm is guns for the time being on ice. The 2017, started a tender process to the suspended game for the army.

The defence Ministry had decided in mid-September, surprisingly, to the order of up to EUR 245 million to the small competitors C. G. Haenel awarded. The recommendation of the Ministry must be approved by the Bundestag – it can but only after the end of the legal dispute between H&K and the Federal government.

The argument lands in the first instance, in the case of the German Federal cartel office-based procurement chamber of the Federal government, as the second instance the higher regional court of Düsseldorf would be on the train. According to the assessment of the procurement lawyer Jan Byok, of the law firm Bird & Bird, the dispute is likely to be several months, probably half a year. From his point of view, H&K has a heavy Stand. “There are only a few cases in which, in the area of armaments, the plaintiff company by the procurement office – it used to be different, but today the office works much more thorough and makes fewer mistakes.”

How important is a prestigious order for the black forest company with a long tradition is also at a big discount to recognize: such As dpa learned from informed circles, called Heckler & Koch, first 235 million euros for the 120,000 of assault rifles. In the course of the procurement procedure, Heckler & Koch lowered his demand to 179 million euros. Reportedly the final offer from a competitor Haenel was around 50 million Euro lower.

Procurement lawyer Byok said that the allegation of price dumping – that is, a price below the costs of production – a role play could be proceedings in the complaint. Dumping prices are banned in public procurement.

C. G. Haenel is a small arms manufacturer from Suhl in Thuringia. He belongs to the arms manufacturer Caracal from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. According to the Federal Gazette Haenel made in the year 2018, just 7.1 million euros in sales, with nine employees, plus management. In 2017, there were only four employees. The Figures for 2019 have yet to be published. In a first public message Haenel-in-chief Olaf Sauer recently stated that it had, in the meantime, a staff of 120. For comparison: Heckler & Koch comes with around 1000 employees, an annual turnover of € 239 million (2019).

Due to a high demand from other countries, the heavily indebted company from Baden would be able to cope with-Württemberg, tender defeat – the order books are full and the company was returned in 2019 in the profit zone. Since H&K had lowered his price considerably and is likely to be lost, the profitability of the own offer is already strong.

Heavy reputation but weighs damage in sales discussions with foreign customers, it was always an advantage to be able to the regular customers of the Bundeswehr references. This argument falls away in the case of assault rifles in the future. With machine guns and grenade launchers, the oberdorfer make more business with the Federal government. And yet, in their parade discipline assault rifle, you would have to accept a setback.

It is not the first Time that Heckler & Koch and the Federal government argue before the court with each other. In 2015, the then Federal defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen (CDU), accused the company of defects in the assault rifle G36, suffered with this perspective, ship breaking way, but in front of the Koblenz regional court.

dpa

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