Industry | High Technology |
---|---|
Headquarters | |
Key people | Mónica Martínez Walter (President) Jesús B. Serrano (CEO) |
Revenue | 384,381,268.16 point in time (2023) |
10,537,224.94 Euro (2023) | |
Number of employees | >3300 [1] |
GMV, founded in 1984, [2] is a Spanish private capital business group with an international presence and more than 3300 workers. [3] In its early days, it focused on the space and defense sectors, being the contract for the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) the beginning of its growth. Over the years it has diversified its operations and expanded into other fields becoming today's technology group, which comprises 11 areas of specialization: Space, Aeronautics, Defense and Security, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), Automotive, Cybersecurity, Healthcare, and Digital Public Services, Industry, Financial sector, and Services.
GMV has offices in 12 countries and clients in nearly 80. It has CMMI level 5, the highest level of this maturity model for improving the capacity of software development processes.
Founded in 1984 by Juan José Martínez García, GMV began operations in the field of space when it won its first contract with the European Space Agency Operation Center (ESOC) from the European Space Agency. [2]
In the early nineties GMV expanded its activity and began to offer services in the areas of transport, defense, telecommunications, and information technologies, in fields that were just starting up at that time, such as the internet and satellite navigation applications. In the year 2000, it joined the European consortium Galileo Industries S.A. to support the development and use of the Galileo European satellite navigation system. In 2001, the company changed direction, with Dr. Mónica Martínez Walter becoming the CEO. [2]
In 2004, the first subsidiary outside of Spain was established in the United States to cover aerospace operations in the American market. It continued expanding in 2007 with the acquisition of the Portuguese company Skysoft. The most significant expansion was from 2009 to 2014 when a regional office in Malaysia and subsidiaries in Germany, Poland, Romania, France, Colombia, and the UK opened. From 2015 to 2018, it continued expanding its international presence with the acquisition of INSYEN AG in Germany and the company Syncromatics Corp in the US, both of which are currently operating under the GMV brand, in addition to also investing in the Spanish startup PLD Space. [2]
At the end of 2018 it won the contract award to maintain and upgrade Galileo's Ground Control Segment, making it the largest contract signed by the Spanish space industry to date. [4] [5] In 2020 GMV acquired the British company Nottingham Scientific Limited (NSL), merging it with its own British subsidiary (GMV Innovating Solutions Limited) creating the company GMV NSL, which in 2022 began to operate under the GMV brand, along with the other subsidiaries. [2]
In 2022, GMV signed an agreement with Lockheed Martin to develop the Southern Positioning Augmentation Network (SouthPAN) system, which was a joint initiative of the Australian and New Zealand governments to provide satellite navigation and positioning services in both countries. [6] It also won a contract that year to provide the ground flight control computer for the Eurodrone program.
In 2023, GMV was selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop the Galileo Second Generation System Test Bed (G2STB). [7] It also secured a contract to develop the ground segment responsible for in-orbit control and validation of the Galileo Second Generation (G2G). The year also saw the integration of Alén Space, a NewSpace start-up, into the GMV group. [8]
In 2023, having achieved the objectives of its investment in PLD, GMV withdrew from the company.
As a declaration of its commitment to sustainable development based on innovation for progress, GMV is part of the United Nations Global Compact, the main international initiative that promotes sustainability and corporate responsibility [9]
GMV operates mainly in the following sectors:
GMV is present in the following cities and countries: [10]
In March 2021, GMV's subsidiary, Grupo Mecánica del Vuelo Sistemas S.A.U., was debarred by the World Bank for three and a half years in connection with collusive, corrupt and fraudulent practices, as defined by the World Bank's Sanctions Procedures, related to a sustainable urban development project (in Danang, Vietnam) and the Hanoi Urban Transport Development Project, also in Vietnam. This decision made Grupo Mecánica del Vuelo Sistemas S.A.U. ineligible to participate in projects financed by institutions of the World Bank Group until September 2024. Grupo Mecánica del Vuelo Sistemas S.A.U. agreed to meet specific compliance requirements as a condition for release from debarment. [11]
In September 2024, the World Bank lifted the sanction, certifying that Grupo Mecánica del Vuelo Sistemas S.A.U. had met all the conditions for release from the debarment outlined in the agreement between both parties. This now allows Grupo Mecánica del Vuelo Sistemas S.A.U. to participate once again in projects financed by World Bank Group institutions. [12]
The European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) serves as the main mission control centre for the European Space Agency (ESA) and is located in Darmstadt, Germany. ESOC's primary function is the operation of uncrewed spacecraft on behalf of ESA and the launch and early orbit phases (LEOP) of ESA and third-party missions. The Centre is also responsible for a range of operations-related activities within ESA and in cooperation with ESA's industry and international partners, including ground systems engineering, software development, flight dynamics and navigation, development of mission control tools and techniques and space debris studies.
Galileo is a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) created by the European Union through the European Space Agency (ESA) and operated by the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA). It is headquartered in Prague, Czechia, with two ground operations centres in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, and in Fucino, Italy,. The €10 billion project went live in 2016. It is named after the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei.
The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System is a satellite-based radio navigation system owned and operated by the China National Space Administration. It provides geolocation and time information to a BDS receiver anywhere on or near the Earth where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more BDS satellites. It does not require the user to transmit any data and operates independently of any telephonic or Internet reception, though these technologies can enhance the usefulness of the BDS positioning information; however, concerns have been raised about embedded malware leaking information in this way.
A satellite navigation or satnav system is a system that uses satellites to provide autonomous geopositioning. A satellite navigation system with global coverage is termed global navigation satellite system (GNSS). As of 2024, four global systems are operational: the United States's Global Positioning System (GPS), Russia's Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), and the European Union's Galileo.
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd, or SSTL, is a company involved in the manufacture and operation of small satellites. A spin-off company of the University of Surrey, it is presently wholly owned by Airbus Defence and Space.
The National Institute for Aerospace Technology "Esteban Terradas" is an autonomous agency of the Spanish public administration dependent on the Secretariat of State for Defence (SEDEF). It is responsible for the aerospace, aeronautics, hydrodynamics, and defense and security technologies research.
OHB SE, headquartered in Bremen, is a European space and technology group specializing in the development and implementation of complete space systems, the production of components for various launcher programs as well as the operation of satellite systems and the processing and provision of the data collected. The company employs over 3,000 people at 15 locations in ten countries, most of them in Europe.
European Satellite Navigation Industries, formerly called Galileo Industries until legal action prompted a name change, was a joint venture of the companies Alcatel Alenia Space and Thales (France), Finmeccanica (Italy), EADS Astrium and Galileo Sistemas y Servicios.
Thales Alenia Space is a joint venture between the French technology corporation Thales Group (67%) and Italian defense conglomerate Leonardo (33%). The company is headquartered in Cannes, France.
The Castelldefels School of Telecommunications and Aerospace Engineering is a higher educational establishment on Baix Llobregat Campus in Castelldefels, Catalonia, Spain. It is part of the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) and offers courses in aeronautics and telecommunications.
Grupo Audiovisual Mediaset España Comunicación, S.A.U. is a Spanish media company, controlled by the Italian-based company MFE - MediaForEurope N.V., which is majority-owned by Berlusconi family's Fininvest Group. Its divisions include the generalist free-to-air TV channels Telecinco and Cuatro, thematic channels and a film production subsidiary, Telecinco Cinema.
Telespazio UK Ltd. is a British space company based in Luton, Bedfordshire. Founded in 1978 by a small group of engineers at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany, VEGA presently works with various space agencies, satellite operators and manufacturers around the world. It works with the European Space Agency (ESA) and ESOC in Germany, European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, ESA Centre for Earth Observation (ESRIN) in Rome, Italy, and European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) in Madrid, Spain.
Mirgor is an Argentinean company that produces electronics, mobile and automotive components, and exports, distributes and commercializes agricultural products. It has its administrative headquarters in the city of Buenos Aires, and industrial sites in Río Grande, Garín and Baradero, as well as its own agricultural-livestock exploitation field in Bolívar.
SENER is a private engineering and technology group founded in 1956. Specializing in activities related to Engineering and Construction, it has industrial holdings in companies working in the areas of energy, environment, and aeronautics.
Payload Aerospace S.L. is a Spanish company developing two partially-reusable launch vehicles called Miura 1 and Miura 5.
Telespazio Germany GmbH is a European aerospace company, founded in 1978. The company provides consulting, technology and engineering services in aerospace missions for ESOC, EUMETSAT and the German Aerospace Center (DLR).
The European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is a space agency, managing the European Union Space Programme as one of the agencies of the European Union (EU). It was initially created as the European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Supervisory Authority (GSA) in 2004, reorganised into the European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency in 2010, and established in its current form on May 12, 2021. EUSPA is a separate entity from the European Space Agency (ESA), although the two entities work together closely.
The United Kingdom Global Navigation Satellite System was a United Kingdom Space Agency (UKSA) research programme which, between May 2018 and September 2020, developed outline proposals for a United Kingdom (UK) owned and operated conventional satellite navigation system, as a British alternative to the European Union (EU) owned and operated Galileo Global Navigation Satellite System. The main reason was to provide a national and independent system, to ensure UK security following its withdrawal from the EU as a result of Brexit. It was fully supported by the Ministry of Defence.
Alén Space is a Spanish company in the NewSpace sector, located in Vigo. Alén Space designs, constructs, and develops software and hardware for artificial satellites. Since 2008, the company builds nanosatellites below CubeSat requirements.