The French rail vehicle manufacturer Alstom Transport has concluded an extensive long term framework agreement with Knorr-Bremse for the development and supply of braking
systems.
The leading manufacturer of braking systems for rail vehicles world-wide can, as a preferred supplier, in the future tender for all Alstom’s major projects world-wide. Knorr-Bremse is the very first supplier with which Alstom has concluded a so-called LP150
agreement.
Both companies declared that the goal of their partnership was to significantly increase Knorr-Bremse’s supply volume to Alstom across the whole range of rail vehicle platforms.
Heinz Hermann Thiele, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Knorr-Bremse AG, describes the agreement as an important step offering the company new opportunities in both the French and the international railway equipment markets.
Dr Dieter Wilhelm, Member of the Executive Board of Knorr-Bremse responsible for rail vehicle systems, sees the framework agreement as proof of the performance capability of Knorr-Bremse’s systems. “We have prevailed over our competitors above all thanks to our strong performance in terms of innovation and quality.” In the last financial year, Knorr-Bremse spent approx. €160 million –
almost five percent of turnover – on research and development.
Alstom Transport is one of the world’s leading suppliers of complete railroad technologies and services. The company develops and manufactures vehicles, signal technology, infrastructure
and services, which it can offer as turnkey solutions. With representatives in more than 60 countries and 26,000 employees, Alstom Transport posted sales of €5.3 billion in
the financial year 2006/2007.
The Knorr-Bremse Group is the world’s leading manufacturer of braking systems for rail and commercial vehicles. For more than 100 years now the company has pioneered the
development, production and marketing of state-of-the-art braking systems.
Other lines of business include automatic door systems, rail vehicle air conditioning systems and torsional
vibration dampers for internal combustion engines. In 2007 the Group posted sales of €3.25 billion and employed a workforce of 14,000.