VOITH Group has signed an agreement with BMT Group of Belgium to purchase IGW Rail, a manufacturer of gearboxes and mechanical drive couplings for rail vehicles. The purchase price was not disclosed.
The deal is expected to be completed by beginning of the fourth quarter of 2022, subject to the receipt of all regulatory approvals and compliance with other closing conditions.
The IGW Rail product range covers all types of rolling stock, from light rail vehicles and metro trains to main line locomotives and high-speed trains. Voith says that over the last 25 years the company has delivered over 100,000 gear units and couplings to customers worldwide.
IGW Rail has its headquarters, research and development centre and a manufacturing facility in Brno, Czech Republic. Its other manufacturing sites are located in Suzhou, China, Pune, India, and Zanesville, United States. IGW has a total of 500 employees.
Voith says that the purchase will make it one of the world’s largest independent manufacturers of gearboxes and transmissions for rail vehicles. Both companies expect the acquisition to enable them to enter into an even closer relationship with customers.
“As Voith also supplies a wide range of components for these rail vehicle markets, IGW perfectly complements the Voith portfolio,” says Voith Turbo president and CEO, Mr Cornelius Weitzmann. “Together, we aim to push the worldwide development of innovative gear unit system solutions for all rail vehicle manufacturers.”
“These components, that are well established on the market, need to be regularly overhauled and supplied with spare parts,” says IGW Rail CEO, Mr Rudy Thoma. “In future, we will be able to provide even better customer service thanks to Voith’s 24/7 service solutions.”
