KEY POINTS:
The new Scandinavian owner of the marine assets of navigation technology company Navman said yesterday it would hire most of the Auckland staff.
Jens-Thomas Pietralla, president and chief executive of Navico International in Oslo, Norway, said his firm would hire 260 employees in Auckland.
The division's former owner, Brunswick New Technologies, had employed 280 people, he said.
Some Navman employees had also been offered global management roles in the Navico Group, he said.
The positions of the 20 Aucklanders who will not be offered jobs are understood to be duplicated in other Navico divisions around the world.
Navman founder Peter Maire praised Navico, saying keeping most of the staff was an endorsement of the marine division's expertise and potential and reinforced Auckland's status as a world leader in the field.
"Navico has recognised the huge value in the development capabilities and expertise that exists in Navman and the outcome is going to be exactly what the business needs.
"Here in New Zealand, we will see the ongoing growth and development of the research and development team, which is the most important part of the business, and hopefully we will see Navman's marine name live on."
But one person close to the deal who did not want to be named criticised the staff moves and said Brunswick was staging a fire sale on its other Navman divisions to reach a March 31 balance date.
"Brunswick is selling through desperation at the moment, because they have to divest by the end of March. It's been a disaster through and through. You should keep your ear open for layoffs from both the marine division and the car navigation division," the person told the Business Herald.
Norwegian company Navico International said last month it would buy Navman's marine electronics operations including Northstar, MX Marine and Navman marine brands.
The two remaining divisions of Navman - portable car navigation devices and fleet management - are also up for grabs and Maire said he wanted the fleet-tracking business. The sale of this division would be hotly contested, Maire said, because it was a very good business.
Navico is due to settle the deal to buy the marine assets next week. Pietralla said the deal would mean Navico was the world's largest provider of marine electronics to the recreational market.
Auckland would become Navico's second-largest operating site behind Oslo, he said. Navico employs 2500 people, has revenue of around US$300 million and markets its products under the B&G, Eagle, Lowrance and Simrad electronics brands.
Navico's headquarters are at Lysaker near Oslo and it has development and manufacturing bases in Tulsa in the United States, Ensenada in Mexico, Egersund in Norway, Stovring in Denmark and Romsey in Britain.
Robert Heebink, who is Navman's research and development manager in Auckland, has been appointed integration manager for New Zealand to lead the merger of the Auckland staff into Navico.
Brunswick has also sold Navman's car navigation division to giant Asian electronics specialist Mitac.
Mitac supplied hardware to Navman's car navigation division and has worked closely with staff in Auckland over a number of years, sources close to the deal say.
Jim Doyle, the former chief executive of Navman, praised Navico for its staffing moves and said that he had agreed to act as an adviser.
"Being part of the largest marine electronics provider gives the team the opportunity to continue to develop world-class products."
Sales Plan
* Navman's marine division will be sold next week.
* Norway's Navico is about to settle the deal.
* Navico will employ 260 out of 280 marine staff in Auckland.
* Navman's car navigation division is also being sold.
* Taiwan's Mitac is the buyer.
