GERMANY: CargoBeamer is to open a factory in Erfurt to produce its proprietary design of wagons for transporting lorry semi-trailers.
The factory with a production capacity of 500 wagons/year will be developed on the site of a former locomotive works, where the 3 000 m2 facility is to be modernised and the rail connection reactivated. Around 15 people will be employed when the plant opens in early 2023, increasing to around 50 in the medium term.
Philipp Aubert, Managing Director of CargoBeamer Rolling Stock GmbH said increasing the number of specialist wagons and developing a ‘dense’ network of routes and terminals to help shift traffic from road to rail was key to achieving the company’s ‘ambitious’ growth plans.
‘In recent months, we have discovered that production capacities for intermodal wagons in Europe are no longer sufficient for our plans and have therefore decided to carry out the final assembly of our freight cars ourselves’, he explained on April 7.
‘For CargoBeamer, where we are rapidly growing into an international company with locations and employees in a wide range of European countries, it is a particular pleasure to bring parts of the wagon production back to Germany.
‘Having our first manufacturing facility expands our know-how, allows us to actively counter market fluctuations and capacity bottlenecks in terms of production, and thus ensures our growth ambitions for the coming years.’
