Matra
Matra (the acronym of Mécanique Aviation Traction) was a major French industrial conglomerate.
1945 Mécanique Aviation Traction was established, immediately beginning development of an ambitious twin-engine aircraft intended to be the fastest propeller-driven plane in the world.
1951 The aircraft broke the sound barrier in horizontal flight using a Matra-built engine.
1955 A patent by Mécanique Aviation Traction Matra
1959 First patent by Engins Matra
1961 Matra was appointed as the first prime contractor for satellites.
1962 Engins Matra agreed to collaborate with Aviation Louis Breguet on rockets and space vehicles[1]
1963 Jean-Luc Lagardère was appointed CEO, a position he retained for c.30 years.
1964 Engins Matra became the owner of car manufacturer Automobiles René Bonnet which became the centre of company activities. The company founded Matra Automobiles, which produced a limited range of racing and sports cars.
1964 Collaboration agreed between Hawker Siddeley Dynamics and Engins Matra SA on joint interests in missiles, electronics and space systems.[2]
1966 The Martel air to ground missile was launched[3]
1968 S. A. des Engins Matra reported continued growth in business in missiles and satellites[4]
1969 15 Matra 530 cars were being produced and sold each day[5]
1969 Technical collaboration agreement with Simca, owned by Chrysler[6]
1972 First patent by Matra
By 1974 Matra had sold its road car division to Chrysler Europe, having shifted focus onto its other growing business activities.
1979 Engins Matra SA was a maker of civil and military electronics and aerospace equipment[7]
1979 Matra took a controlling interest in Solex[8]
1981 French government acquired 51 percent of the Matra missiles and electronics company as part of a wide programme of nationalisation.[9].
After this the name Engins Matra did not appear in the British Press; last patent under this name; perhaps renamed Matra Group?
Matra was involved in a wide range of businesses, including media, weaponry, aeronautics, and music distribution.
1988 The company was privatised; Lagardère's stake in the company grew considerably over the following years.
Early 1990s, GEC negotiated an international partnership with Matra in space technology [10].
1994 Matra became a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group
1996 The consolidation of Europe's missile companies began, when parts of Matra Defense and BAe Dynamics merged their missile activities to form Matra BAe Dynamics. Matra BAe Dynamics represented half of Matra Hautes Technologies' missile business, the other half was Matra Missiles which became Aérospatiale-Matra Missiles.
1999 Matra Hautes Technologies, which represented the conglomerate's aerospace, defence and telecommunications arm, was merged with the French aerospace corporation Aérospatiale to form Aérospatiale-Matra. Several former assets of Matra continued to operate under the Lagardère name.
2001 MBDA was formed by a merger of Aérospatiale-Matra Missiles, Alenia Marconi Systems (of Finmeccanica) and Matra BAe Dynamics.
The car division worked closely with other vehicle manufacturers, most significantly Renault.
2003 Pininfarina SpA acquired Matra Automobile's engineering, testing and prototype businesses; the company was subsequently named Matra Automobile Engineering.
2003 Matra went bankrupt.
See Also
Sources of Information
- [1] Wikipedia