A powerful combination GHH-BONATRANS Group

A POWERFUL COMBINATION

The GHH-BONATRANS Group combines two of the global leaders in their fields to form a company that can now offer the world’s most comprehensive portfolio of wheelsets, wheels, axles and tyres for every variety of railway vehicle. In a conversation with CEO Dr Raimund Abele, Victoria Hattersley finds out what makes the group unique, as well as discussing its latest achievements in R&D and plans for continued global expansion.

The GHH-BONATRANS Group was established in its present form on 1 January 2014 when the Czech based BONATRANS GROUP a.s. acquired the German company GHH-Radsatz GmbH. Both companies have distinguished manufacturing traditions stretching back many decades and are leaders in their individual sectors: BONATRANS is strong in high volume heavy rail solutions, whereas GHH is the leader in light rail applications.

Dr Abele begins: “The acquisition of GHH means that the biggest suppliers in Europe in the field of rolling stock wheelsets have been joined under one umbrella and paved the way for even greater global expansion. Today the GHH-BONATRANS Group achieves a turnover of €300 million and we employ 2,000 people across our German, Czech and Indian sites.”

Rolling into India

While the above is impressive enough, it could be said that GHHBONATRANS’s facilities in Europe merely represent the beginning of its journey. At the time of writing, it is in the final stages of establishing a brand-new manufacturing site on the booming Indian market. The group is already starting to recruit people here and trial production has been put in train, with the site expected to become fully operational in the first quarter of 2016. At full capacity, Dr Abele informs us that it will be capable of manufacturing 20,000 wheels and 6,000 axles per year, and assembling around 5,000 wheelsets.

Discussing the importance of this move for the group, he says: “India represents the first step in our global expansion and we will be concentrating on the high-end market here as we are seeing rapidly increased demand from this segment. The strategic reason for entering this market is the need for safer and more efficient mobility in India to transport people and goods, thanks to the twin drivers of a growing economy and expanding population. We recognised that to operate successfully on this market you need to have a local presence and we have now achieved this.”

Indeed, it could be said that the group’s success in India is practically assured since, besides Indian rolling stock manufacturers and railways, a number of its long-term clients are already present in this market including global OEMs such as Alstom, Bombardier, Siemens, GE and Hyundai Rotem.

Moving further east

In addition to the European and Indian markets, GHH-BONATRANS is looking to expand even further afield and as such is currently involved in several light rail projects in China. As the biggest rail market in the world with incredible growth particularly in high speed, it makes perfect sense for the group to make this move. It is currently in the process of establishing a distribution office for South East Asia as the first step in this long-term plan.

However, Dr Abele does point out that establishing a firm foothold on the Chinese market is by no means a simple process. “China is not a typical market as investments there are largely government-driven and there is no longer a ministry of railways as such. This means we have to adjust our way of doing business. As with India, we feel that localisa-

tion will be very important in the long-term. In the future we may well be setting up production too, as we are already seeing appreciation from Chinese customers for our quality and engineering know-how. We will differentiate ourselves through technology and quality rather than capacity and cost.”

Products for every need

As mentioned above, GHH-BONATRANS is able to offer a complete range of wheelsets, axles and tyres for all kinds of railway vehicles. Its long-term experience in delivering wheelsets and parts for the most demanding applications to over 80 countries worldwide has given it all the knowledge it needs to provide customers with products that have been optimised to meet their exact requirements. Its wealth of experience has also given the group the ability to be flexible when it comes to product development – a key attribute in this sector, particularly when it comes to smaller volume orders. To give some indication of the range of possibilities open to customers, it manufactures over 1,000 wheels and over 300 axle types.

When it comes to the group’s product and service offering, Dr Abele is keen to highlight its unique selling position. “Our customers can rely on us as a one-stop supplier and they expect us to have the latest technologies. We offer every kind of support system for locomotives – low floor designs, a complete product range for any bogie designs from regional to intercity and freight. The list is extensive.”

Innovation and key trends

GHH-BONATRANS works continuously to improve its technologies, driven by the need to lower material consumption, increase productivity and wear resistance, and – above all – ensure the highest safety standards. For example, while not being a steel producer itself it works with steel suppliers to create enhanced steel grades specifically for the locomotive, passenger as well as freight segments. A good example of this would be BONASTAR, which has proven to be very successful with clients.

One particularly significant product currently in development is a new induction-hardened axle that will bring, amongst other things,

significantly higher fatigue characteristics, and so a longer lifetime and increased safety margins. “This product is in the first field test phase,” says Dr Abele, “and we will then need to widen its range of application so it can be used from freight to high-speed. This will be a long journey with a lot of testing needed along the way but we are very confident in its ultimate success.”

The group has also been involved in the ICE 4 consortium which is a follow-up to the previous ICE (Intercity Express) programmes for Deutsche Bahn (DB). ICE 4 will be DB’s platform for high-speed intercity connections for decades to come and GHH-Bonatrans is a major supplier of both wheels and axles for both motor and trailer bogies for this project.

Another concern that has come to the forefront in this industry in recent years is the need for noise reduction. As Dr Abele explains, “This is down to the increase of railway infrastructure resulting in higher traffic density. Whilst this topic is not exactly new, the industry is only just starting to get to grips with finding ways to implement noise reduction on a wider scale in a way that is economically

achievable. As always, GHH-BONATRANS will be at the forefront of technological advances in this field.”

And when it comes to innovation, GHH-BONATRANS recognises the importance of collaboration. It works closely with partners in the development of new solutions and has the biggest team of designers and engineers in this industry. Its collaborators include railway institutions, universities, EC-funded projects as well as, of course, the clients themselves.

Continued global leadership

GHH-BONATRANS regularly attends industry trade shows, both large and small, in order to confirm its industry leading position and showcase its latest innovations. For example, at the next edition of Innotrans in September 2016 it will be demonstrating its inductionhardened axles as well as its new low-floor designs.

When it comes to maintaining its pattern of growth in the future, Dr Abele fills us in on the group’s five-year business plan which involves the doubling of its business in both Europe and the international markets. He feels there is still plenty of scope for growth in Europe even though GHH-BONATRANS is already the market leader here. In addition, following its expansion in India and the Far East, the Americas will be the next step in the coming years.

When asked what makes the group stand out from its competitors on the market, he tells us: “Our philosophy is that people count more than anything else and this has contributed to our success. All the people in our group have the right attitude and are dedicated to the market and know they can only be successful if we all work together. The most important thing is that we continue to be driven by the goals of safety, reliability and timely deliveries.”

He goes on: “We have competitors who can excel in certain areas but to be the leader in this market you have to have the full complement of products and services. There is simply no room for weakness in any single area, which means not just keeping costs as low as possible but also combining this with the highest standard of quality. As a final point, certification is very important for our clients and we have the biggest testing capabilities in the world. This gives us the advantage of being able to quickly come up with new products and prove that they work. In short, customers can rely on us for all their needs and can continue to do so for many years to come.” n