EUROPE: French rail infrastructure supplier SATEBA Group has acquired the concrete sleeper manufacturing activities of Belgian company De Bonte Group.
This includes more than 80 employees who last year produced 500 000 sleepers at plants in Laakdal and Baudour in Belgium and Montataire and Vers-Pont-du-Gard in France.
These sites are expected to complement SATEBA’s existing plants in Chalon-sur-Saône, La Riche and Charmes, as part of the company’s strategy to expand its product range and strengthen its R&D capabilities.
SATEBA is owned by unlisted private equity fund TowerBrook Capital Partners. It is aiming to strengthen its position in the rail infrastructure market, and plans to reduce the carbon footprint of sleepers by more than 30% between 2022 and 2026.
‘The acquisition of the concrete sleepers business of the Belgian group De Bonte underlines SATEBA’s determination to build a French and European group dedicated to high-performance, sustainable rail infrastructure, serving our major customers such as SNCF Réseau and, more broadly, the entire community’, explained SATEBA CEO Benoit Cattin-Martel on April 29.
