US company increase stake in simulator maker

Published: 3/16/2000

Environmental Tectonics Corporation has signed an agreement to purchase for cash an additional 30% stake in its partially-owned Polish subsidiary, ETC-PZL Aerospace Industries Ltd. ETC initially purchased 65% of the company in 1998, when a previous Spanish investor sold off its holding in the company. According to the Chief Financial Officer of ETC, Mr Duane Deaner, the deal came about as a result of personal contact between the president of ETC, Mr William Mitchell and Mr Cesar Chapinsky, President of the Polish Company. The remaining 5% stake in the company remains with the original owner, the Polish Government Aircraft Company, PZL Warszawa-Okecie S.A of Warsaw. ETC-PZL, formerly PZL-Aerospace Industries Ltd, established in 1991, has emerged as the leading producer in Poland of simulation and advanced training devices, including simulation systems for pilots and weapons systems operators, including the PZL-130 Orlik basic turboprop trainer. The company's associated products include 3-axis and 6-axis hydraulic platforms, specialised computer software, computer graphics, databases, computer based training and digital maps. It has also developed a number of visual databases, utilising the new OpenGL standards. The association with ETC over the past two years has proved to be mutually beneficial, since the companies regularly share their software and hardware engineering resources. The Polish company is currently providing the graphic interfaces for the Chicago-based company in the development of a fire fighting simulation.

Article ID: 1684