RENK intends to open new service and production facilities to support customers in Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic states. In the initial phase, the company will focus on servicing tank gearboxes, engines and chassis, before moving to the production of new equipment at a later stage.
Over the next four to five years, the German manufacturer plans to invest €500 million in expanding production capacity and research and development. The move reflects what the company sees as growing demand on NATO’s eastern flank.
“Poland is the ideal place to enable closer contact with customers in the region,” Sagel said. He noted that locating facilities in Poland would allow faster responses to customer needs, particularly in crisis situations.
Transporting a damaged tank over 2,000 kilometres, repairing it and returning it after six months is not an efficient solution, he argued. Poland is intended to become a service hub not only for its own armed forces but also for the Baltic states and Ukraine.
Sagel pointed out that Poland stands out among NATO countries for its defence spending as a share of GDP. In response to rising security demands in the region, defence manufacturers including Renk and Rheinmetall are intensifying their activities in Eastern Europe, with Rheinmetall already building factories in Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Ukraine.
Before the outbreak of the full-scale war in Ukraine, RENK produced between 200 and 300 transmissions annually, according to Der Spiegel. By the end of 2026, the company aims to increase that figure to 800, with revenues expected to triple compared with 2024.
Despite increased funding for the Bundeswehr, Sagel said Germany’s armed forces had not significantly improved over the past four years. “Only speed counts, speed, speed,” he stressed, highlighting the need for rapid delivery of ordered equipment.
Sagel also argued that tanks remain a central element of defence, particularly on NATO’s eastern flank. “A wall of drones will not stop an army equipped with tanks and missiles,” he said, while adding that the future belongs to autonomous combat systems, for which Renk already supplies gearboxes for electronically controlled unmanned vehicles.
Last autumn, Polish media reported that RENK Group AG would supply transmissions for K2 Black Panther tanks destined for Poland from South Korea, in a contract worth more than €70 million. The production takes place in Augsburg and includes service support.
As a supplier to the German Navy and to Western tank manufacturers such as KNDS, Rheinmetall and Leonardo, Renk plays a significant role in the European defence industry. Its planned entry into Poland represents a further step in the company’s expansion strategy in Eastern Europe.
Source: Der Spiegel.
