merger of new rail technologies

mErgEr oF nEw

rail tEchnologiEs

Greenbrier-Astra Rail is a global supplier of specialist equipment and services to the global rail freight transportation markets. The company is a world leader in the design and manufacture of freight railcars as well as marine barges for the north American market. Greenbrier Europe and Astra Rail recently merged to form a new European-based conglomerate, Greenbrier-Astra Rail. Philip Yorke reports.

The Greenbrier Group is headquartered in Lake Oswego, Oregon and is a leading global supplier of equipment and services to the global rail freight transportation markets. The company manufactures freight railcars in the US and Brazil through strategic partnerships in which it holds majority interests and also produces rail castings through a separate Brazilian partnership. Greenbrier also owns a majority stake in Greenbrier-Astra Rail, which is a recently formed end-to-end, Europe-based freight railcar business. Through other partners and joint ventures the company manufactures a broad range of products including tank heads and other rail freight equipment. It also owns a lease fleet of over 9000 railcars and provides management services for a further 268,000 railcars.

A century of technical innovation and service

Astra Rail Industries was founded in Romania in 1882 and has since produced more than 1 million freight wagons. Astra Rail has the largest freight wagon manufacturing capacity in Europe with covered working areas exceeding 350,000 square metres. This enables the company to produce over 5000 freight wagons per year in a wide variety of designs that include many innovative and unique tailormade high-tech systems.

In addition to freight wagon production, the company also provides servicing, maintenance and repair facilities for the development and inspection of rail cars. Today Astra Rail continues as a well-established and highly successful, pan-European multi-plant business with three modern manufacturing, engineering and repair facilities located in Arad, Severin and Caracal in Romania. In addition to its three state-of-the-art manufacturing plants it also manages a network of maintenance shops throughout Europe and is able to conduct all its own testing procedures in-house. Having merged with the Greenbrier Group it now represents a formidable engineering force in the global rail transportation and service industry markets.

Increasing global diversification

Greenbrier-Astra Rail is led by an engineering team with decades of experience in railcar markets throughout eastern and western Europe, as well as in North America and emerging markets around the world. The company’s daily operations are led by an experienced management board team including CEO and president Bernd Bose, most recently the CEO of Astra Rail, and CFO Bogdan Lesnianski, previously head of Greenbrier’s Wagony Swidnica operations. Growing demand in mature rail markets like

western Europe, coupled with the opportunities provided by fastgrowing emerging markets, places Greenbrier-Astra Rail in a strong position for further growth.

“The creation of Greenbrier-Astra Rail extends Greenbrier’s commitment to global diversification, while providing scale and greater value to our customers in Europe,” the company told Industry Europe. It sees the transaction as transformational now that its combined operations are better positioned to pursue the growth opportunities offered by the growing global freight car market. Greenbrier-Astra Rail plans to capitalise on the substantial market opportunities on offer by leveraging its resources to provide the best possible end-toend solutions. Beyond Europe the company will aggressively pursue the fast growing markets it can easily access from its range of broad European-based operations.

“We are excited to unify the creative and capable management teams from both companies to deliver world-class innovation to our freight railcar customers in Europe and beyond. Together with our investments in Saudi Arabia, Brazil and Mexico

Greenbrier has significantly grown its international footprint over the last few years to create a truly global network. We look forward to an expanded presence in Europe, while we also address the developing markets in the GCC, Africa and Eurasia, said Greenbrier-Astra Rail.

multi-functional technologies

The company is a lean, efficient and reliable organisation that prides itself on its quality customer service as well as on the high standard of its products. Today Greenbrier-Astra Rail is becoming more and more involved in the design and manufacture of highly complex special projects where it is often involved in developing ground-breaking new technologies in the development of multi-functional freight wagons. A recent example of these new technologies at work in its special contracts portfolio can be seen in the company’s unique, ‘Super Self-Discharging Train’. This special vehicle is over 600 metres long and consists of permanently coupled rakes, each with either six or four wagons, and with its own conveyer discharging system.

This advanced system is suitable for the effective transportation of gravel, ballast, sand and mixed materials. In addition each rake consists of a power unit fitted with a diesel engine, which powers the hydraulic, electric and pneumatic systems.

Greenbrier-Astra Rail operations cover all its European facilities and services that involve six railcar manufacturing facilities and railcar repair sites. This is in addition to sales, administration and engineering offices spread throughout Europe. The newly formed company already employs over 4000 people across eastern and western Europe. n

For further details of the latest innovative products and services available from Greenbrier-Astra Rail visit: www.gbrx.com