Vossloh Locomotives, Kiel, off to a flying start
Vossloh Locomotives GmbH, Germany’s biggest builder of diesel locomotives, is off to a flying start this year as announced by the company concurrently with the Vossloh Group’s annual accounts presentation in Düsseldorf today.Kiel plant’s order backlog enough to keep it busy for all of 2007
Even now, the Kiel plant has enough orders on hand to keep it busy for all of 2007. The order book includes two megacontracts from international lessors, as reported by Vossloh back in January and February of this year: an order for 19 locomotives from Angel Trains Cargo, Belgium, and one from Mitsui Rail Capital Europe for seven locomotives.
The Angel Trains contract concerns G2000 and G1206 locomotives, rated at 2,200 kW and 1,500 kW, respectively, for either heavy-duty freight haulage or heavy-duty shunting work. Depending on equipment, each G2000 costs up to €3 million, each G1206, again varying according to configuration, up to €2.1 million. Locomotives of this type have also been ordered by Mitsui Rail Capital Europe. “Together these two contracts are worth over €60 million,” commented Andreas Hopmann, CFO at Kiel.
Expanding position in the French market: follow-up order for six locomotives
The locomotives manufacturer is also expanding its position in the French market where over the past weeks it has already shipped out seven of altogether 20 diesel locomotives to the French rail operator SECO-RAIL which at the end of April 2006, had ordered from Vossloh Locomotives a fleet of 20 ultramodern diesel locomotives some of which this year have already successfully started operation in France. Meanwhile, SECO-RAIL has placed a follow-up order for another six G1206 units.
For this year, Vossloh sees good opportunities for further orders from France as well as from the Netherlands and Belgium. “France, in particular, is moving full steam ahead in its rail sector privatization efforts,” explains Hopmann. “Newly emerging operators and also large construction companies are looking for freight haulage locomotives.” With experience extending back for around 80 years and diesel locomotive construction expertise acknowledged throughout Europe, the Kiel plant is the prime address for such operators.
Further apprenticeships this year
Vossloh AG took over from Siemens in 1998 the Kiel location which up to 1992, had belonged to the Krupp-MAK Group. At Kiel, Vossloh Locomotives employs a workforce of 470 that builds between 60 and 70 locomotives annually. The range reaches from medium-duty shunters to heavy-duty line service units outputting over 2,000 kW. All these locomotives can be fitted with the latest train control systems and are operable in almost all European countries. Among the workforce of 470 are 15 apprentices, with another seven to be hired in the course of this year. The company also plans to deploy up to 100 workers on temporary loan in order to complete the accumulated workload on time.
Kiel, March 28, 2007
Contact:
Dr. Phoebe Kebbel
Hering Schuppener Consulting
Phone: (+49-69) 92 18 74 77
Mobil: (+49-173) 286 21 10
Email: pkebbel@heringschuppener.com