History
In 1980, Dr. Juan José Martínez García, a university professor at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Aeronáuticos (School of Aeronautical Engineering, Madrid, Spain), created a university work group called Mecánica del Vuelo [Flight Mechanics], which can be considered the very origin of GMV. Four years later, with the help of a small group of collaborators motivated by a strong entrepreneur spirit, he founded the first company of what has become nowadays an international business group, GMV.
At first, GMV started providing solutions for the space and defense industries, focusing on fields such as mission analysis, flight dynamics, control centers, simulation, or satellite navigation, areas in which GMV has become a world leader. The small group of engineers that was awarded a contract with the European Space Operations Center (ESOC) in an open international bid rapidly became a solid company, which by the end of the 80's employed nearly 100 professionals, participated actively in many relevant ESOC space missions and provided highly specialized services to the main international satellite manufacturers and operators. In just a few years, GMV had gained a solid reputation in the European space sector thanks to the quality of its work, something that was officially recognized in 1988 when GMV was declared Center of Excellence in Orbital Mechanics by the European Space Agency.
At the beginning of the 90's, GMV decided to diversify its activities and approach other industries through the transfer of technology. Therefore, new lines of business were pursued in the Transportation and Telecommunications fields as well as in the implementation of Information Technologies for the Public Administration and large corporations alike. By working in these industries, GMV became a pioneer in fields such as the Internet or satellite navigation applications, which at that point were in a very preliminary stage: for example, GMV installed the first firewall system in Spain and implemented the first SMS-Internet gateway in the country. In the Transportation field, GMV became a pioneer in Spain with the creation of intelligent transportation systems and the first positioning and fleet management systems based on GPS technologies. In this way, GMV began to transfer the knowledge and experience gained in the space field (control centers, geographic information systems (GIS), satellite navigation, telecommunications and data networks) to other markets.
Also during the 90's GMV consolidated its position in the area of Defense, particularly in the field of command and control systems, satellite navigation systems for military applications and simulation.
By the end of the 90's, GMV had grown to be a truly diversified company with over 300 employees and annual sales reaching 20 million euros (about $25 millions), nearly 50% of which came from areas like Transportation, Telecommunications and Information Technologies.
In 2000, GMV and the main Spanish companies in the aerospace sector joined to create a new company called Galileo Sistemas y Servicios S.L. (GSS) with the objective of promoting the development and commercial exploitation of the European satellite navigation system, Galileo. To this end, GSS holds a 12% stake in the European consortium Galileo Industries S.A., the main contractor for the development of the Galileo system. This consortium includes companies such as Alcatel-Alenia Space, EADS Astrium, and Thales.
In 2001, the founder and president of GMV, professor Dr. Juan José Martínez García passed away, an event that implied a change in the management structure of the GMV business group. Presidency was thus assumed by Dr. Mónica Martínez Walter while Mr. Luis Mayo was appointed Chief Executive Officer.
At that point, GMV entered a new phase with the dual objective of maintaining company’s independence, on the one hand, and of developing a business plan to guarantee profitable growth both in traditional as well as in new areas of business, on the other hand. To achieve this, GMV decidedly invested in the development of new products and solutions for the Space, Defense, Transportation and Information Technologies sectors. At the same time, GMV decided to expand business by approaching new fields and developed an ambitious program of global expansion for consolidated lines of business.
As part of this global expansion program, in 2004 GMV opened its U.S. branch, a very important step for the company since it would give it a presence on two continents. The U.S. branch focuses its activities on the North American aerospace market with the objective of becoming a trusted supplier for the North American industry and institutions in this sector.
In May 2005, GMV took yet another step towards continuous growth and global expansion with the acquisition of 58% of the Portuguese company Skysoft, a company with lines of business and market objectives similar to GMV’s.
In 2007, GMV completes his range of products in passenger transports telematics area, with the purchase of a 66% stake in the Spanish company MASISCONVI, S.A., concentrated in the design, development, manufacture and marketing of electronic fare-collection systems. MASISCONVI gives GMV a strong foothold in South America and North Africa markets.
Our record speaks for itself: after more than 20 years in business, GMV has evolved from a small aerospace engineering company to a corporate group with nearly 800 employees operating in different high technology sectors and holding an extensive portfolio of international clients.
