Switch to UK site
banner

Press releases 2004

20 December 2004 VT Communications sign broadcast contract with China Radio International VT Communications, part of VT Group plc has signed a significant broadcast contract with China Radio International (CRI) to deliver nine hours of daily programming into Southern Africa, Mexico and Brazil, providing CRI with the network coverage they require for new services.
13 December 2004 VT Group commences negotiations for new offshore patrol vessel VT Group plc has commenced negotiations with the Ministry of Defence for the construction of a new 80 metre Offshore Patrol Vessel (Helicopter) for the Royal Navy following the Ministry’s assessment of competitive bids from a number of companies.
08 December 2004 Roll out of 100th 2FMP Tucano The VT Aerospace staff at RAF Scampton gathered in the main hangar for the hand over of the 100th Tucano aircraft to the RAF at the end of its major modification programme, on 8 December 2004. This special occasion was marked by the presence of the IPT leader Wing Commander Steve Gale, and a team from the IPT, who received the aircraft’s documents from Stuart Cameron, Head of Operations for VT Aerospace. The 2nd Fatigue Modification Programme is being delivered by VT Aerospace at the Scampton facility and sees the embodiment of ten modifications that increase the fatigue index of the Tucano aircraft. The fleet wide fit will be successfully completed later this year, to programme, ensuring a common standard of aircraft across the fleet.
07 December 2004 Royal Navy stays in the Pacific VT Halmatic the UK’s leading military and commercial RIB manufacturer has secured, against stiff competition, the contract to manufacture the Royal Navy’s next generation of naval seaboat. This follows a detailed trials and evaluation study by the Ministry of Defence over the last 12 months.
07 December 2004 Spanish success for VT Halmatic VT Halmatic have delivered two new Nelson 40 pilot boats to the pilotage authorities at the Spanish Ports of Cartagena and Gijon. Both vessels are the recently introduced optimised version of the evergreen pilot boat originally introduced in the 1960’s.
16 November 2004 VT Group announces Interim Results VT Group plc, the government support services and shipbuilding group, announces interim results for the six months ended 30 September 2004.
01 November 2004 VT Communications deliver critical news programming into Afghanistan for interviews VT Communications (VTC) has provided part of the vital link to enable the communities all over Afghanistan to receive radio programming produced live from Kabul. Internews Network has been charged with developing indigenous Afghan media with a focus on radio as part of USAID’s Office of Transitional Initiatives efforts to rebuild the country.
25 October 2004 Acquisition expands VT's guidance services to north of england Support services and shipbuilding company VT Group has strengthened its position as one of the UK’s leading providers of guidance services for young people and adults with the announcement today of the acquisition of The Guidance Enterprises Group through VT’s 50/50 joint venture with Enterprise plc.
06 October 2004 New Super Vita builds on proven design VT Shipbuilding has built on the success of its Super Vita Class with the launch of a stretched version of the 62m. fast attack craft, which is currently in production for the Hellenic Navy.
06 October 2004 VT unveils latest OPV offering The latest development from the VT Shipbuilding family of offshore patrol vessels (OPV) will be formally unveiled at the Defendory 2004 Exhibition in Greece.
05 October 2004 VT Aerospace retain northern air weapsons ranges contract Aviation support services company VT Aerospace (VTAE), part of the VT Group, has won an extension worth up to £2.4m over a five-year period to provide services to the Northern Air Weapons Ranges at RAF Tain and RN Cape Wrath.
05 October 2004 Commander-in-chief fleet starts VT production on HMS Dauntless Admiral Sir Jonathon Band, Commander-in-Chief Fleet, has officially started VT Shipbuilding’s production of the second Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer, HMS Dauntless, at VT’s Portsmouth Shipbuilding Factory.
16 September 2004 Government minister launches new VT Education initiative Education Minister Ivan Lewis MP has launched a new initiative between VT Shipbuilding and the Sholing Technology College in Southampton designed to encourage more young women to follow a career in engineering.
19 August 2004 VT Communications to deliver 100KW transmitter to the Swedish Defence Materials Agency VT Communications has signed a contract with the FMV (Försvarets Materielverk, the Swedish Defence Material Agency) for the supply of a 100kW VLF/LF transmitter control system and associated equipment. The transmitter will be used to deliver communications for the Swedish Navy, primarily for their submarine fleet. This success builds on an earlier contract awarded to VT Communications in October 2003 by the FMV for VLF/LF modulators and receivers for the Swedish Navy’s submarine communications.
09 August 2004 VT Aerospace Air Traffic Control Trophy Presentation The Royal Air Force's leading Air Traffic Controllers have been recognised by the presentation of Annual Awards, sponsored by VT Aerospace, in the Officers' Mess at RAF Northolt.
09 August 2004 VT Aerospace support remarkable Tucano Milestone The Shorts Tucano TMk1 reached its 300,000 flying hours milestone on 7th July 2004. The occasion was marked by a celebratory flypast of 4 Tucanos over RAF Linton-on-Ouse, home of the RAF’s fleet of Tucanos, and the presentation of an oil painting by the Tucano engineering support contractor, VT Aerospace.
03 August 2004 £70 Million contract expands VT Group's expertise in fire fighting training VT Group has expanded its support services activities in fire fighting training by signing a contract to build, operate and maintain a new Centre in South Wales.
28 July 2004 Positive outlook for the VT Group Support services and shipbuilding company VT Group is pleased to report that trading remains in line with expectations for the year, with more than £300 million of new business secured to date and good prospects for further contract wins.
21 July 2004 VT Careers launches new Job Guide A new comprehensive careers guide tailored to young people and adults in Ireland has been launched to coincide with school exam results.
21 July 2004 Additional Type 45 Destroyers and CVF confirmation welcomes by VT Group Support services and shipbuilding company VT Group today welcomed the Government’s commitment to further Type 45 Class destroyers for the Royal Navy bringing the total to eight ships and to the Royal Navy’s future aircraft carrier (CVF) programme.
20 July 2004 VT Group becomes full member of Airtanker Consortium Support services and shipbuilding company VT Group has finalised an agreement to become a full member of the AirTanker consortium which is currently in negotiations with the UK Ministry of Defence to deliver the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft Programme (FSTA).
08 July 2004 VT Group wins £100 million contract to manage New Zealand Naval Dockyard VT Group, the support services and shipbuilding company, has signed a contract with the New Zealand Defence Force to manage the Royal New Zealand Navy’s main dockyard at Devonport, near Auckland. VT will carry out the role in conjunction with its New Zealand joint venture partner Fitzroy Engineering, of New Plymouth. VT and Fitzroy have formed a joint venture company known as VT Fitzroy Limited.
05 July 2004 Surrey County Council and VT Group launch VT Four S David Miliband MP, Minister for Schools Standards, has marked a new chapter in education with the launch of VT Four S. VT Four S, whose shareholders are Surrey County Council and support services company VT Group, is the first public/private partnership of its kind offering school support services across the country.
25 June 2004 World's leading Military and Commercial boat suppliers VT Halmatic, the UK’s leading builder of small craft and workboats, has finalised an agreement with US-based Brunswick Commercial & Government Products (BCGP) that will see the pair market each other’s wide range of products and services throughout the world.
25 May 2004 Mirabella V represents major technical triumph VT Shipbuilding (formerly Vosper Thornycroft) has completed one of the most demanding technical challenges in nearly 150 years of shipbuilding history with the hand-over of Mirabella V.
19 May 2004 VT Barge Returns Shipbuilding To Portsmouth Naval Base VT Shipbuilding has launched the first vessel to be built in Portsmouth Naval Base for 37 years with the naming of a 90 metre barge.
18 May 2004 Preliminary Results for the twelve months ended 31 March 2004 VT Group plc ('VT'), the government support services and shipbuilding group, announces preliminary results for the year ended 31 March 2004.
07 May 2004 VT Merlin expands digital horizons VT Merlin today launched two new weekly digital streams, bringing the benefits of Digital Radio MondialeTM (DRMTM) to a number of its most important international broadcast customers.
16 April 2004 VT Merlin concludes successful DRM Trailswith Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) commissioned VT Merlin Communications to undertake a feasibility study into setting up digital broadcasts in the Hong Kong territory using the Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) system.
24 March 2004 VT Group Set To Manage New Zealand Naval Dockyard Under the agreement, VT is funding the construction of the three River Class ships and chartering them to the RN for an initial five-year period. By undertaking all maintenance, VT will guarantee that each ship is operational for at least 300 days a year and at the end of the initial charter period the UK Ministry of Defence will have the option to extend the agreement; purchase the ships outright or hand them back to VT.
11 March 2004 VT Aerospace expands port of Southampton activities VT Aerospace (VTAE), part of the VT Group, has become established as one of the leading support services providers to the Port of Southampton by expanding its activities for Associated British Ports (ABP).
16 February 2004 Portsmouth Harbour Ferry Company orders new ferry from VT Halmatic Following a comprehensive selection process The Portsmouth Harbour Ferry Company PLC (PHFC) has awarded a contract to build a new 32m passenger vessel to leading UK boatbuilder VT Halmatic Ltd. The vessel has been designed by Camarc Ltd to fulfil the demanding requirements of both the cross harbour ferry service within Portsmouth harbour and PHFC's Leisure Cruising operations throughout the Solent.
09 February 2004 Careers.co.uk posts record numver of hits Careers.co.uk, our dedicated careers site for young people aged 13 - 19, recorded its busiest month ever in January 2004. The site received over 487,000 hits in January, with 5772 unique visitors - beating the previous record (set in March 2003) by over 500. Careers.co.uk now has over 30,000 registered users.
02 February 2004 VT Group Completes Acquisition of JA Jones Contracts The close ties between Flagship and the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) were further strengthened over the last 3 months by the successful completion of navigation and warfare courses by officers from the RMN.
02 February 2004 VT Group completes acquisition of JA Jones contracts VT Group (“VT”), the support services and shipbuilding company, today announces that it has completed the acquisition of ten support services contracts in the United States held by JA Jones Services Group, which entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings last year.
27 January 2004 Appointment of Non-Executive Director VT Group plc (VT), the support services and shipbuilding company, is pleased to announce the appointment of Baroness Blackstone as a non-executive director with immediate effect.
26 January 2004 VT Group's involvement in FSTA VT Group, the support services and shipbuilding company, has welcomed the announcement that AirTanker has been judged to offer the best prospective value for money PFI solution for the UK MoD's Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft Programme (FSTA).
05 January 2004 VT Group expands Support Services activities in the US VT Group, the support services and shipbuilding company, has expanded its portfolio in the United States with an agreement to acquire several key contracts held by J.A.Jones Services Group, which is in US Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.