On December 5, the Knorr-Bremse Group celebrated the inauguration of its new braking systems, doors and HVAC plant in Granville, Australia. The new facility was officially opened by Mr Heinz Hermann Thiele, the owner and Chairman of the Knorr-Bremse Supervisory board and Ms Gladys Berijiklian, the New South Wales Minister for Transport. Among those present at the opening ceremony were numerous customers, guests from the spheres of politics and business, and representatives of Knorr-Bremse.
For Knorr-Bremse the opening of the new plant marks the cross-functional merger of its four former locations in New South Wales into one site in Granville. The new facility, which has been designed in line with the latest environmental and industrial health & safety findings, provides almost 16,000 square meters of office and production space. The plant provides work for approximately 240 employees in the various departments of Knorr-Bremse Australia.
In Granville, the company is bringing together its ongoing Australian business and production activities for rail and commercial vehicle brake components, IFE-Tebel door systems, and Sigma HVAC systems. The site is now the foremost provider for OE and aftermarket services for brakes, doors and HVAC in Australia. In addition the warehouse stocks in excess of 23,000 line items to support the diverse range of rail and commercial vehicles that rely on Knorr-Bremse systems every day.
There were several reasons for merging the separate locations. On the one hand expansion of the production site in Granville had become a necessity on account of revenue growth at Knorr-Bremse Australia and additions to the portfolio in recent years. At the same time, though, the new facility has also been designed to merge the activities of Knorr-Bremse and the Sigma company, which the Group acquired in 2010, thereby facilitating more efficient cross-functional collaboration.
Dr. Dieter Wilhelm, Member of the Board of Knorr-Bremse AG responsible for the Rail Vehicle Systems division, commented: “I have been delighted to watch the progress and growth in Australia over the past 13 years, culminating in this new state-of-the-art facility with which we can meet the needs of our customers even more effectively.”
Knorr-Bremse Group
Construction of the new plant in Australia forms part of a far-reaching program of capital expenditure by the Knorr-Bremse Group designed to modernize its global development and production network. In a four-year period between 2011 and 2014, Knorr-Bremse is investing over €250 million in leading-edge plant & equipment and buildings in growth markets around the world. This year already witnessed the opening of new locations in Brazil (Itupeva), USA (Westminster), Italy (Buccinasco) and India (Palwal and Pune). The new facilities in Granville represent a total investment of approximately €25 million.
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, marketing and servicing of state-of-the-art braking systems. In the rail vehicle systems sector, the product portfolio also includes intelligent door systems, HVAC systems, control components, and windscreen wiper systems, as well as platform screen doors, friction material and driver advisory systems. Knorr-Bremse also offers driving simulators and e-learning systems for optimum train crew training. In the commercial vehicle systems sector, the product range includes complete braking systems with driver assistance systems, as well as torsional vibration dampers, powertrain-related solutions and transmission control systems for enhanced energy efficiency and fuel economy.
