Zurich Switzerland RUAG Debuts New Name beyond gravity

by David Bullock
Staff Writer

Forty year old space industry company RUAG International renamed its company branding to “beyond gravity” in mid-March. The Swiss company attended the Satellite 2022 conference in Washington, D.C. that month to introduce its new name and promote its products and services. The company’s name will legally change May 1, 2022 and, so far, has profitability in YTD 2022.

“The brand change was made by the company to demonstrate that we have moved into a new era. And the legacy company we have been has been combined with a startup mentality… We’ve been on this path for several years and we are now manifesting this with our brand name,” said Dr. Axel Roenneke, Vice President Key Accounts and Sales. “The brand name change has been very well received. [The conference, Satellite 2022,] was the first show with our new brand… We were clearly recognized in our new brand setup. I think it was a good step forward on our journey.”

The company has been a product supplier for well-known space missions for 40 years. Even though it is based in Zurich, it has offices in six countries including one in the US, and employees at six more locations.

“We are a product supplier. We develop and manufacture computers, mechanisms and structures for multiple platforms and customers. For [ESA’s’] Galileo First Generation, for example, we provided the on board computer and data handling system,” Roenneke said.

Other organizations that beyond gravity has worked with recently include OneWeb, NASA (James Webb Telescope), Arianspace and ULA.

“We have demonstrated our success in the commercial satellite area and with launchers, where we provide structuresand dispensers for large constellations,” Roenneke said.

The company has a new CEO, André Wall, and before he came beyond gravity had some difficult years. The company turned around and achieved a positive year in 2021.

“In these difficult times, we have become significantly faster and more agile and were able to intensify the relationships with our most important customers and partners even further. Without their trust and the extraordinary team performance of all employees, this excellent result would not have been possible,” Wall said. “Now we must successfully anchor our new space brand, beyond gravity, on the market and swiftly conclude the remaining divestment projects.”