Challenging market for Greek contractors.

• Author: Tadjdeh, Yasmin
• Position: Global Defense

As the Greek economy sinks, defense contractors based in the region are facing a difficult market, members of the country's industry said.

"Greece will only spend money in the foreseeable future in maintenance," said Theodore Tsitouras, director of international sales and product solutions at Intracom Defense Electronics, a Koropi, Greece-based defense contractor. "I don't really see a big market in Greece because the budget is basically controlled by the European Union and our lenders. They make the final decision about how much money we are spending, and usually this money is minimal."

IDE specializes in tactical communications, telemetry systems, information security and hybrid power.

Greece has been in turmoil over the last several years as it faces mounting debt amid a faltering economy. Its depression stems in part from the United States' stock market crash of 2008. Earlier this year Greece defaulted on loans from the International Monetary Fund and has since faced strict austerity measures.

The crisis has wreaked havoc on the nation's defense companies, members of its industry told National Defense at a trade show in Washington, D.C.

"This right now is not a real market for defense because of the ...defense cuts and all the budget restrictions," said Nicholas Yannoulakis, business development director of Elfon Ltd., a Pallini, Greece-based defense contractor. "Most of the big companies are trying to survive on exports rather than imports."

Elfon specializes in the manufacturing of wiring harnesses, cabling and electromechanical assemblies. Yannoulakis noted that 90 percent of his company's products are sold internationally, many of them to the United States and Europe.

Greek companies want to sell internationally, but many find that the country's economic situation is tarnishing their reputations, said Athanasios Kouimtzis, managing director of Alpha Systems, a Thessaloniki, Greece-based contractor that manufactures power transmission units, drive train assemblies and security systems for off-road military and heavy civil vehicles.

"Over the last four or five years...[we have needed] to spend a lot of energy to...