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Vossloh AG
Founded 1888
Founder(s) Eduard Vossloh
Headquarters Werdohl, Germany
Key people Werner Andree , Norbert Schiedeck [1]
Industry Railways
Products Switches (points), rail ties, locomotives, light rail systems and trolley buses
Website www.vossloh.com

Vossloh AG is a German transport technology manufacturer based in the Westphalian town of Werdohl. The group has 6000 employees (as of 2007), and generated sales of €1.2 billion, of which approximately two-third came from the rail infrastructure division and the remaining third from the motive power and components division. The company is included in the MDAX index.

The rail infrastructure division's key products are the devices (clamping terminals) for fastening the rail to the railway sleepers (railroad ties), railroad switches and switch controllers. The Motive Power Division and Components provides diesel-electric and diesel-hydraulic locomotives, metros, trams and electrical components for road and rail.

The main market of the group is Europe with over three quarters of sales. Fifteen percent of sales are to the Americas, mainly North and Central America, one percent of sales at to Oceania, and the remainder of sales are about equally divided between Africa, and the Near and Far East. [2]

Contents

History[3]

In 1883 Eduard Vossloh submitted a bid to the Royal Prussian Railway for the manufacture of spring washers for rail fasteners and was granted the commission. On 11 July 1888 the Eduard Vossloh Company was registered. Spring washers and other hardware items were manufactured at the family's blacksmiths shop. Through the early 1900s the company continued to grow, producing general hardware including decorative items and lampholders for electric lights.

In 1945 the facilities in Werdohl were destroyed by a bomb. Subsidiaries marketing lampholders which are located in Kalingrad, Wroclaw and East Germany ceased to be part of the company due to the changes in political borders at that time.

In 1946 production of holders for fluorescent tubes was allowed to take place in Lüdenscheid. By 1962 an additional plant for lighting products had opened in Selm and the Vossloh works employed 1300 people, with 500 more employed in subsidiaries.

In 1966 Vossloh obtained a license to produce a new tension clamp rail fastening developed by Prof. Hermann Meier.

On 1st Dec 1989 Vossloh-Werke GmbH became a stock company (AG) - the stock company acts as a marketing and financial company and as the parent company for three business divisions:

  • Vossloh-Werke GmbH in Werdohl (railway infrastructure and spring washers)
  • Vossloh-Schwabe GmbH in Urbach (ballasts, lampholders, lamp components)
  • Hansa Metallwarengesellschaft mbH Thiessen & Hager (decorative line and sun protection products).

Vossloh AG expanded in the 1990s with the acquisition of other rail infrastructure and engineering companies.

In 1997 the company was first listed on the MDAX; in the same year the decorative division was sold to Italian company Arquati S.p.A

In 1995, the Hoesch Maschinenfabrik Deutschland GmbH was acquired as well as William Hegenscheidt at Erkelenz (Hegenscheidt-MFD); both companies produce machinery for the manufacture of railway wheelsets.

1998 brought the acquisition of Siemens rail technology (SFT) in Kiel making it one of the largest suppliers of diesel hydraulic locomotives.

Also in Kiel, the company operated subsidiaries, Vossloh Information Technologies GmbH. This was sold (Feb. 2007) to Funkwerk AG and now operates as Funkwerk Information Technologies. In 2000 the lighting division was sold to Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd., Osaka, Japan. Thus Vossloh AG realigned itself as a rail infrastructure company.

In 2004 the locomotive plant in Valencia, Spain was acquired from Alsthom during that company's time of financial difficulties.

Organisation[4]

Vossloh G 2000 Diesel locomotive

The company is currently (Jan 2009) divided into two divisions: the rail infrastructure division comprising Vossloh Fastening systems and Vossloh Switch systems, and the Motive Power & components division comprising Vossloh locomotives and Vossloh electrical systems.

  • Infrastructure
    • Vossloh Fastening Systems GmbH (devices for attaching rails to sleeper etc)
    • Vossloh Cogifer SA (points 'switches', signaling etc)
  • Motive Power&Components:
    • Vossloh Locomotives GmbH (The former MaK locomotive plant)
    • Vossloh España S.A. (The former Alstom plant - produced the Class 67 and various RENFE diesel electric locomotives amongst other)
    • Vossloh Kiepe GmbH (Light rail metro, trolleybuses, air conditioning amongst other products)

Spin-offs and subsidiaries

See also: Angel Trains

In 2000 Vossloh and Angel Trains formed a locomotive leasing business - Locomotion Partners consisting of two companies:

  • Locomotion capital Ltd. (90% owned by Angel trains, 10% Vossloh) : a locomotive procurement, rental and management company initially headquartered in London.
  • Locomotion Service GmbH (90% owned by Vossloh, 10% Angel trains) : a locomotive servicing and modification company that would initially contract its work to Vossloh SFT in Kiel.

The companies would not exclusively hire and service only Vossloh locomotives, and would act independently, depending on the circumstances.[5]

See also

External links

References

  1. ^ The Executive Board
  2. ^ Annual Report 2007
  3. ^ Vossloh group history
  4. ^ Description of, and links to, Vossloh AG divisions
  5. ^ 07/14/2000 Angel Trains announces the creation of Locomotion Capital in association with German group Vossloh Vossloh.com
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