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throughout the industry and will continue to be the foundation of our busi- ness model. Customer support remains our highest priority. How is your company investing today for tomorrow? Grant Our investment strategy centers on both enhancing our existing range and creating new products that extend our range: iCON and Sabertooth being two recent examples. Continued investment will expand the range of tasks possible with both ROVs and hybrid AUVs, and help bring savings in operational costs for our customers. The Saab Seaeye five year business plan contains a number of exciting initiates so watch this space for further developments We will also continue to expand the service, support and operator training for our customers and distributors across the world. With operators relying heavily on our ROVs to work tirelessly at demanding tasks in the most hos- tile of conditions, the importance of excellent after sales service is a critical element of the cooperation and trust built up with our customers. Defense underwater vehicle applications, such as submarine deployed ROV/AUV, artificial target AUV?s and new scenarios of mine countermea- sures solutions, will provide significant opportunities for growth in the defence market. The world economy has been a drag on many sectors. Can you discuss the effects of current global economy on your company? Fortunately, electric ROVs are slightly less susceptible to economic down- turns than hydraulic vehicles, because inspection, repair and maintenance of existing installations must go on, but we are certainly not immune. So far, we have seen that when one area of the world such as Gulf of Mexico is very quiet, then another part of the world such as South East Asia is active, but if a world recession arrives then everyone will be tightening their belt. Of course a stable oil price ? not too low and not too high ? will allow the oil and gas industry to continue offshore development, continued invest- ment in offshore renewable energy and continued investment in underwater vehicle defence products. All are the main formulae for a healthy market for our products but of course predicted slow growth in major countries and general tightening of spending will reduce opportunities in these markets so we must insure we remain competitive in our various market areas. What is your outlook on business? There is still a huge demand for oil and gas as an energy source, and there- fore I see sales of ROVs continuing to grow in that market over the coming years assuming financial markets and demand remain stable. In addition, a new market for our ROVs has emerged in the fast-growing renewable energy sector with its special operational needs for installation and maintenance offshore. This is already becoming a growing percentage of our market mix, and the particular needs of this sector will influence the shape of our product portfolio into the future. Meanwhile, continued vigilance on the defense and national security front continues to drive demand in this sector for underwater vehicles, with a MTR#7 (18-33):MTR Layouts 8/29/2011 9:52 AM Page 25