New Sensis CEO expects growth

DeWITT — After acquiring Sensis Corp. in August, Saab made its new subsidiary the global head of its aviation business.

Two Saab units in Sweden now report through Sensis, and the DeWitt–based company is also responsible for Saab’s North American radar business. Those actions should be a good indicator of Saab’s intentions, Sensis President and CEO Marc Viggiano says.

“They didn’t buy it to close it. They bought it to grow it,” he says. “This is foreign direct investment in the U.S.”

Viggiano took over as president and CEO in August after Jud Gostin, who founded the company in 1985, stepped down.

Saab AB, a defense and security company based in Sweden, paid $150 million in August for Sensis, which now operates as Saab Sensis Corp. The deal could be worth up to $190 million if Sensis meets certain earnings targets in the next few years.

Sensis provides sensor technologies, radar systems, modeling, and simulation for defense, civil aviation, airport, and airline customers.

Viggiano was previously senior vice president and director of corporate development at Sensis, where he was responsible for leading the company’s strategy and business development. He also served as chief operating officer and, before joining the company, worked in advanced sensor systems at General Electric’s Aerospace Group.

The acquisition by Saab will lead to more work, more exports, and more jobs at Sensis, Viggiano says.

Saab’s global presence will mean greater access to foreign markets, he notes, adding that he has long been focused on exports. Saab has more than 30 locations around the world and has been doing business globally for years.

“We’ve really just begun to scratch the surface of tapping the potential of everything that Saab can do for us here in Central New York,” Viggiano says. “It makes doing business around the world a lot easier for us.”

Looming cuts in U.S. defense spending shouldn’t hurt Sensis’ domestic sales, according to the company. About 75 percent of its business is in aviation with the remainder in defense.

And Sensis specializes in work like upgrading and extending the life of existing systems that will be valuable in the confines of a smaller Pentagon budget, Viggiano says.

“We probably have as much potential for growth on the defense side as anywhere,” he says.

Saab has been in the U.S. since 1950, but several years ago company leaders decided they needed to do more in the North American market, Saab North America President Dan-Ake Enstedt says. The firm needed a stronger local presence and more people here, he says.

The U.S. represents more than 40 percent of the world market for defense and homeland security, Enstedt notes. And the strict requirements for work here can help a company like Saab with sales elsewhere, he adds.

Saab’s long-term goal is generating $1 billion in U.S. sales. The company is about halfway there now and Sensis will play a key role in helping reach that total, Enstedt says.

The company’s expertise in radar and air- traffic systems was a perfect fit, as those were two areas of focus for Saab already. In the future, Enstedt expects Sensis’ work to expand into other Saab business areas like command and control and homeland security.

“When they are ready, we really want to broaden the business in Sensis and build the company up and recruit more people in other areas,” he says.

Sensis accounts for Saab’s largest presence in the U.S. and carries major potential, he adds.

Although Sensis doesn’t provide projections on future employment levels, Viggiano says the expectation is expansion. Plans call for stable employment in the next few months and then for growth.

Sensis currently employs about 600 people at eight locations and serves more than 60 customers in 35 countries. It has about 500 employees in Central New York.

The firm did suffer job cuts after the acquisition by Saab. Seventy-two employees, including executives, support staff, and technical professionals, lost their jobs.

The job cuts were meant to bring the firm’s work force in line with its current business prospects, Viggiano says. Financial challenges originally sparked the sale to Saab.

Sensis lost money in 2011 as revenue shrank significantly. Sensis will turn a profit in 2012, Viggiano says.

Since the acquisition closed, the company has won about $40 million in new business, he adds, and is projecting revenue growth of 5 percent in fiscal 2012. Sensis isn’t expecting further job cuts.

“They are absolutely here to stay,” Viggiano says of Saab. “This is an investment in Central New York.”