Thales

Thales Profile & Stats

Taking its name from the pre-Socratic Greek philosopher dubbed the ‘Father of Science’, Thales is a bellwether in mission-critical information systems for aerospace, defence, security and transportation. The company has a global network of 22,500 high-level researchers that maintain its reputation for both civil and military technologies. With headquarters in Neuilly-sur-Seine, in the suburbs of Paris, Thales is one of the ten largest defence contractors in the world, boasting operations in 50 countries and a staff of more than 68,000. Over half of personnel are now based overseas and almost 80% of Thales’ profits are procured outside its homeland.

Today Thales is at the forefront of digital technology, yet the company’s roots can be traced back well over 100 years to the pre-electronic 1888. In 1968, Thales’ predecessor Thomson-CSF was born from the merger of Thomas-Brandt and Compagnie Générale de Télégraphie Sans Fil. During the ‘70s, Thomson-CSF received its first major export contracts in the Middle East, after the 1973 and ’79 oil crises. In 1982, the umbrella, Thomson SA, was nationalised, leaving the company on a weak financial footing. In the mid to late ‘80s, the company’s financial circumstances were turned around by refocussing on professional and defence electronics, and heavily divesting its interests in communications.

Before the end of the decade, Thomson-CSF – anticipating cutbacks in defence spending – began to restructure its businesses. Looking towards external growth, predominantly in Europe, the company made a number of acquisitions – both small and large – and in doing so expanded the Group’s industrial base outside of France. By the end of the century, the French State’s interest in Thomson-CSF had reduced to 40%; and in 2000, the newly privatised company completed the friendly takeover of the British Racal Electronics. By the end of the year, the company had rebranded to Thales, and responding to the geopolitical and economic upheavals following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, strengthened its focus on the technology-intensive segments of the defence market. 2007 saw the transfer of transport, security and space activities from longstanding partner Alcatel-Lucent, and just two years later Dassault Aviation became the Group’s main private shareholder and industry partner.

Although Thales’ business arms are now organised by market segment – aerospace and space, defence, and security – the company operates as a single organisation, sharing technologies and drawing on complementary capabilities. In aerospace, Thales employs over 13,000 people and provides onboard and ground systems for the civil aerospace market. The company provides systems and functions for commercial airliners, regional business aircraft and helicopters, and is the first-tier partner of a number of the world’s leading manufacturers, including Airbus and Boeing. Thales is also involved in high performance satellite technologies in both civil and defence sectors, covering telecommunications, space infrastructure and transportation, observation and environment, science, navigation and ground systems.

In the defence market, Thales has long been a partner to military and security services around the world, designing and delivering systems for all four environments: air, land, sea and space. Thales’ security systems currently account for 25% of turnover, and the company invests 18% of revenue back into innovation. And in transportation, Thales offers a wide range of railways signalling solutions and integrated transportation systems to ensure safe transit of both goods and people.

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