Indian industrial group acquires Danish train toilet maker

DENMARK: Goa-based industrial group Kineco has acquired Danish train sanitary system supplier Semvac from Wabtec UK in an all-cash transaction.

Kineco’s railway division supplies rolling stock interior and exterior products in India, and the diversified group is also active in the aerospace, defence, renewable energy and industrial sectors.

Kineco said the acquisition of Odense-based Semvac is ‘a strategic milestone’ for its expansion in the global rail sector. It gains access to Semvac’s established customer base including Alstom, DB, SNCB and SNCF with more than 19 000 vacuum toilet systems installed worldwide, and provides Semvac with a gateway to the Indian market.

‘Ever since the launch of our Global Rail brand at InnoTrans 2022, Kineco has been actively exploring opportunities to establish a local presence in the European rail market’, said Kineco founder, Chairman & Managing Director Shekhar Sardessai on January 9. ‘This acquisition is the first of many milestones planned as a part of our globalisation strategy for the rail business.’

He said Kineco would ‘further enhance Semvac’s brand positioning, competitiveness and global market reach by combining the strengths of both companies in terms of products, technologies, marketing and manufacturing.’