TKMS CEO Oliver Burkhard speaks on CPSP

TKMS CEO Oliver Burkhard did an interview with the FAZ newspaper the other day. It's not entirely uncommon for Mr. Burkhard to do these kinds of interviews, especially with TKMS recent public listing fresh on the mind.

However what is uncommon was the amount of time dedicated to speaking on the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project. With the project heating up, and with everyone at the 24th Berlin Security Conference today, it feels like no better a time than now to speak on the project!

Canada sits at the centre of the interview in a way that’s rare for a German Interview. Burkhard makes clear in his own words the value he sees in Canada, as strategic hinge-point in TKMS’s future.

Burkhard talks about Canada in a transformative way. You get the rare sense, at least theoughout CPSP, of just how important TKMS feels about Canada. He doesn't speak of us in the usual distant, far-off way many have complained about. He speaks very personally about Canada’s value as a core part of the companies plans.

From that starting point, the discussion moves to industrial strategy, TKMS bread and butter strategy. Canada will not buy submarines as a one-off procurement. The government wants the deal to be the start of a wider economic and strategic partnership, and the phrase “submarine building is nation building” feels appropriate in the context of recent discussions.

Burkhard outlines the three layers that TKMS believes Canada will demand simultaneously:

• Navy-to-Navy Cooperation

• Government-to-Government Reliability

• Industry-to-Industry Integration.

The winning bid won’t just be deliver boats. They’ll be tasked with building an ecosystem. That ecosystem is where TKMS thinks it can win. Ut is something that I have previously highlighted as one of their core strengths. TKMS has experience in this. They have a track record, and the established network to leverage.

Burkhard goes out of his way to praise Canada’s industrial Base, something that German officials have routinely brought up the last few months. He identifies energy, mining, AI, steel, and battery production as fields where TKMS sees real value.

There is another signal hidden in the steel discussion. When asked about Canada’s desire to use Canadian steel, Burkhard notes that submarines require non-magnetic steel, a specialty alloy Canada does not produce. Something that we here at TNSR have also noted as a potential issue in TKMS bid.

He treats it as an engineering detail that can be handled within a larger cooperative model. Canada may bring the facilities and labour; Germany brings the alloy and know-how. It's a rare acknowledgement of a deficiency the company has when it comes to CPSP.

Steel is commonly brought up as an Industrial offset for CPSP. This has been an area that the government has been pushing hard on. Joly had previously, apparently, floated the idea of hulls being produced in Canada, down to investigating potential partners in Industry. That didn't pan, but it shows how much this has been in focus.

So for the company to acknowledge that is a bold step. So is diving into production numbers. The company hasnt been outgoing in information, least of all production. We get a good statement about it, and while I still have concerns with the production capacity of TKMS and their timelines, I can appreciate the comment.

You do get the famous German dismissiveness against Hanwha. That is something the Germans have been doing a lot lately. They have been highly dismissive on Hanwha’s ability to provide support for CPSP. Yet you also do get rare acknowledgement of just how big and capable Team Korea is when it comes to offsets.

Its a very rare admission, and perhaps why this interview catches my interest so much. While many of the talking points in this are fairly known or standard for the company, there is a strange, down to earth feeling of acknowledgement about the situation and the companies worries.

TKMS has a right to worry about a company like Hyundai. There is a looming giant in just how much capacity and capability there is in Team Korea to offer offsets. Its why there is such a focus on leveraging history and the companies established track record. The company can't compete, on it's own, against the weight companies like Hyundai and Hanwha can throw around. So it has to pivot to itd established nature.

Canada is the only country in the interview where TKMS uses the language of long-term strategic partnership instead of customer/provider. India is business. Germany is crisis management. Canada is partner. When Burkhard speaks about Canada, he stops talking like a supplier.

Its a rare look, again. It has a very different feel to other interviews I have heard from the GERNOR side. Its blunt. Its straightforward. It feels very personal, not a pitch but a hinest conversation. Its different for sure. Although that same dismissiveness can certainty be a downfall.

I feel almost bad. If we had more of this in media, instead of what weve gotten. Maybe if we didnt have competing philosophies from the government side this kind of messaging would resonate more. If there is one area that the GERNOR side struggles it is media, it is coming off sincere and looking for genuine partnership.

That can be blames a lot on lack of media, and while I often say that TKMS doesnt need to sell me, or you, or anyone outside the decision-makers, this mentality, this lack of presence does become noticed, and people do talk about it as a negative.

Hanwha cares. They feel like they care. Team Korea feels engages, involved and that resonates eith people, and not just the public or those online here. It resonates with those in CAF, in industry. Its something that people feel. It makes people excited.

This interview feels sincere, feels real. Yet it's that rarity, that strange feeling that reminds of hownrare this feeling is. The old system is dying. The way things were done are no longer acceptable. The people making the choices want different.

How media was done before is no longer going to cut it. It's not just about the decision makers. People acknowledge when you're not out there, not engaging. They take note of the people who they feel care, who want to be partners.

We see this time and time again. We see how the engaged, those who embrave the Influencer.memtality thrive in discussions, how they can shift and manipulate the narrative.

The truth is that many in Industry aren't prepared for the change that's coming. I tell a lot of people who come to me that there is a shift. There's a change in mentality. Interviews like this are important, even if they might not seem like it. The media game is vicious and it's more influential than ever.

I just hope people realize that before it's too late