Tanax a.s. was established in 1951, mainly to cater to the defence requirements of the Slovak Republic. In 1958, it was integrated with Tatra a.s. and started producing parts for that company. In 1983, it began producing Tatra-designed trucks. In 1990, it was separated from Tatra and was formed into a separate company, with its major production focused on Tatra parts. In 1993, during the privatization of companies in the Slovak Republic, Tanax was bought by Sipox Group. In 2004, Vectra became a 50 per cent shareholder of Tanax.

The major business of Tanax is production of axles (as per Tatra designs), manufacturing of special defence vehicles for the Slovak army, fabrication and heat treatment job work, and production of spare parts for Tatra.

Tanax’s main customers today are Venus Projects for axles, PPS Detva for chassis of TATRAPAN 6 x 6, SKD, Praha & WIKOV, Hronov for Gearings, Tatra–Czech Republic for Completion parts & Spare parts, TANAX TRUCKS for spare parts & platform for their vehicle AKTIS, Euro 4. The company plans to reach a turnover of 17 million Euros for the year 2010. It is restructuring its capital, plant, and machinery, and rationalizing its workforce.

The MoU for acquiring 100 per cent stake by Vectra Group was signed on 23rd Sept. and lately on 24th March the final transaction and the physical transfer of shares took place. VECTRA now fully owns TANAX a.s.

With Tanax becoming a 100 per cent- owned company of Vectra Group, the group companies can leverage their presence in the Eastern European market.
Vectra can now fully utilize the expertise of Tanax personnel in designing, developing, procuring, and manufacturing parts and products at competitive costs. Similarly, Tanax can collaborate with other Vectra Group companies to expand its own business.

Some of the areas of synergy and cooperation are likely to be:

• Integration of specialized design, development of capabilities of existing
technical workforce of Tanax

• Backward integration of other engineering equipment and products of Vectra
Group companies

• Sourcing of aggregates, parts, and fabricated items from Tanax for various
specialized vehicles under development at Vectra Group companies

• Enhancing and expanding manufacturing capabilities in a similar line of
business by making investments in the latest machines, tooling equipment,
etc. at Tanax.

• Exploring procurement possibilities for Tanax from other Vectra Group
companies with associated cost benefits.