Vossloh AG is a rail technology company based in Werdohl in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The SDAX-listed group achieved sales of around €930 million in 2016 and, , had more than 4,000 employees.
Vossloh can trace its origins back to the late 19th century and Edward Vossloh, a blacksmith who secured component manufacturing work for the Royal Prussian Railway in the 1880s. In the following decades, the company expanded into the production of general hardware, including decorative items and lampholders for electric lighting. The company has long been based at Werdohl, though this has not always been straightforward; the company’s facilities there were bombed during the latter half of the Second World War. Several subsidiary companies were lost following the conclusion of the conflict. However, Vossloh survived, launching production of fluorescent tube holders at a plant in Lüdenscheid in 1946. In 1967, it obtained a license to make a new tension clamp rail fastening. During the late 1980s, considerable reorganisation was undertaken, management outside of the Vossloh family was brought in, rival company Schwabe GmbH was acquired and, on 1 December 1989, Vossloh-Werke GmbH became a public stock company or Aktiengesellschaft (AG).
By the twenty-first century, Vossloh had developed into a global market leader both for rail fasteners and switch systems; a series of acquisitions in the 1990s and 2000s had greatly bolstered its presence in the rail sector. In North America, Vossloh became the leading manufacturer of concrete railway ties. It has offered a globally unique grinding technology, so-called high-speed grinding, for track maintenance. Vossloh previously owned three business units for Electrical Systems, Locomotives, and Rail Vehicles; these were sold in 2015, 2020 and 2016 respectively. The brand name "Vossloh" is still used for several products that are not, or are no longer, related to Vossloh AG. For example, Vossloh locomotives have been produced by the China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) since 2020.
Its customers are generally public and private railway companies and network operators, as well as regional and municipal transport companies. Since its restructuring in the mid-2010s, Vossloh has focused on target markets: China, the US, Russia and Western Europe. Important Vossloh production sites are in Germany, France, Luxembourg, Poland and Scandinavia. In addition, the group has subsidiaries in Asia, North and South America, Australia and Russia.
History Origins and early years The company origins can be traced back to the German blacksmith Eduard Vossloh. After having returned from the Franco-Prussian War, Vossloh undertook various forms of work and struggled to turn a profit until he secured a major contract during 1883 for the manufacture of spring washers, used for rail fasteners, from the Royal Prussian Railway; allegedly, the Prussian authorities had looked positively upon his military service. Lacking the resources to fulfil the order, Vossloh hired several workers and obtained help from another German company, Kugel & Berg, which delivered the needed wire to construct the metal lock rings. Soon after the order's fulfilment, additional orders followed, and Vossloh had no shortage of work. On 11 July 1888, the Eduard Vossloh Company was registered; that same year, the business moved to new premises outside of Werdohl's inner core that facilitated an expanded workshop and product range.
By the mid-1890s, this workshop had been equipped with a variety of machines and effectively become a small factory. In 1899, Edward Vossloh died and his three oldest sons took on the management of the company. One of these sons, Karl Vossloh, became an engineer and expanded the company’s product range by developing various new metal components for the railways. The business grew steadily around this time; by the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, it employed roughly 240 people and provided a steady living for the Vossloh family. During 1917, a large German steel maker, Rheinische Stahlwerke Duisburg, held talks with the Vossloh family on acquiring the firm; however, terms could not be agreed and no such deal took place. In the aftermath of the conflict, the demand for forged products collapsed and Vossloh opted to focus on smaller metal components instead of manufacturing larger ones, establishing a modest plant to produce sheet metal along with a separate new facility to supply the former with raw materials.
During the early 1920s, the business was reorganised into three limited liability companies, each led by one of the three oldest Vossloh brothers; one headed the production plants in Werdohl, another led the Lüdenscheid factory, and the last brother was responsible for marketing and sales. In 1924, Vossloh acquired a wood processing plant in Dillenburg; by this time, Vossloh maintained more than 60 company-owned apartments that were rented at low prices to Vossloh employees. During 1927, Karl Vossloh developed the high tension ring, which went on to become the standard used on numerous railways across Europe, including Germany. By the late 1920s, Vossloh had developed a network of sales offices across the region, including offices in Königsberg, Breslau, Munich, Frankfurt/Main, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Throughout the early 20th century, the company continued to grow, producing general hardware, including decorative items and lampholders for electric lights; its diverse product range helped it survive the Great Recession.
Demand for Vossloh's products remained strong throughout the 1930s and into the Second World War; in the war year, women took the place of many of the male craftsmen that were sent off to fight. During early 1945, amid the closing months of the conflict, the firm's facilities in Werdohl were destroyed by a bomb. Subsidiaries marketing lampholders, which were located in Kaliningrad, Wrocław and East Germany, ceased to be part of the company due to the post-war changes to Germany's national borders made at the end of the conflict. In contrast, Werdohl has remained an important location to the company; even in the 21st century, the headquarters of Vossloh AG and Vossloh Fastening Systems GmbH (Core Components division) are located here.
During 1946, production of holders for fluorescent tubes was allowed to take place at a plant in Lüdenscheid. By 1950, recovery was well underway, with in excess of 700 employees at Vossloh's three production facilities. By 1962, an additional plant for lighting products had opened in Selm and the Vossloh works employed 1,300 people, with 500 more employed in subsidiaries. A decisive turning point in the company's fortunes occurred in 1967 when Vossloh obtained a license to produce a new tension clamp rail fastening developed by Prof. Hermann Meier, director of the Deutsche Bundesbahn.Vossloh AG, company history via www.fundinguniverse.com
As a result of a recession in Germany in the 1980s, two plants were closed and many employees were laid-off, reducing Vossloh's headcount by almost half. Management was brought in from outside the Vossloh family, and the rival company Schwabe GmbH was acquired. Schwabe's lighting ballast products complemented Vossloh's lighting fittings product range and, on 1 December 1989, Vossloh-Werke GmbH became a public stock company or Aktiengesellschaft (AG). At that time, there were three company divisions : Vossloh-Werke GmbH (Werdohl) (railway components, e.g., tension clamps), Vossloh-Schwabe GmbH (Urbach) (electrical lighting products and components), and Hansa Metallwarengesellschaft mbH Thiessen & Hager (decorative products, sunscreen products).
1990s and beyond The current listed company was founded in 1990. On 13 June 1990, the shares of Vossloh AG were listed on the Düsseldorf Stock Exchange for the first time. During the 1990s, the reunification of Germany, and the opening of new markets in eastern Europe, resulted in additional demand for its rail fastening products on the former Deutsche Reichsbahn and elsewhere. Hoesch Maschinenfabrik Deutschland GmbH and W. Hegenscheidt GmbH, manufacturers of railway wheelset machining equipment, were acquired in the mid-1990s. In 1997, the company was first listed on the MDAX. During 1998, the railway switch manufacturing company VAE group was acquired by Voestalpine AG and Vossloh.
However, a recession in the 1990s contributed to the sale of Vossloh's "non-recession-resilient" decorative products division to Arquati S.p.A. of Italy in 1997. Under company CEO Burkhard Schuchmann during and after the 1990s, Vossloh was re-orientated as a rail-industry-based company. In 2002, the lighting division was sold to Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd. of Osaka, Japan, and the company decided to expand into the rail industry market through a number of acquisitions.
1996: Rail related parts of the Deutsche System Technik GmbH company (traffic management and electronic information systems) are acquired after insolvency, forming Vossloh System-Technik GmbH 1998: The former Krupp Maschinenbau Kiel, then under Siemens' ownership as Siemens Schienenfahrzeugtechnik 1998: MAN Systemelektronik acquired and added to Vossloh System-Technik GmbH 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.] In 2004, the 10% stake in Locomotion capital Ltd. was sold and the stake in Locomotion Service GmbH increased to 100%. 2001: A 55% stake in NovoSignal AB (Sweden), designers of electronic interlocking and process control systems 2001: (VAE systems acquires Transwerk Perway Pty. Ltd (South Africa), railroad switch manufacturer) 2002: Passenger information and entertainment systems unit of Bombardier Transportation, Germany 2002: Cogifer group (France) (Division Customized Modules) is acquired, and Vossloh's share in VAE group is sold to Voestalpine The Société de Construction et d’Embranchements Industriels (SEI) was founded in 1904 in Reichshoffen, Alsace, to manufacture rail switches. Reichshoffen is still an important location today. One of the French switch plants has its headquarters here, as does the technology center of Vossloh Cogifer. 2002: Kiepe Elektrik (Düsseldorf, Germany) 2002: Skamo (Nowe Skalmierzyce, Poland); railroad switch manufacturer. 2003: MIN Skretnice (Serbia); railroad switch manufacturer. 2004: The diesel locomotive manufacturer formerly known as Meinfesa (in Valencia, Spain) was acquired from Alstom during that company's time of financial difficulties. 2004: Swedish Rail Systems AB (Sweden); railroad switch manufacturer 2004: Delkor Pty. (Australia); railroad switch manufacturer 2004: JS Industries Private Ltd., (Hyderabad, India); 51% of shares of railroad switch manufacturer 2005: Daksin Transtek Ltd. (Bangalore, India); railroad switch manufacturer - joint venture with Patil group (Patil Rail Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd, India) 2005: Beekay Engineering & Castings Ltd. (India), 60% acquired by Vossloh Cogifer