Skoda Transportation acquires majority stake in Finlands Transtech

TIN news:        Czech engineering company Skoda Transportation has completed the acquisition of the controlling stake in Finnish rolling stock manufacturer Transtech from investment company Pritech Oy for an undisclosed amount.
 
TransTech, Finland's only manufacturer of railway and urban rail vehicles, employs around 500 people and has an annual turnover in excess of CZK2.5bn (€92m).
 
The company's largest customer is Finnish State Railways (VR Limited), to which it supplies double-decker and pressure-tight carriages, which are designed to operate at a speed of 200km / h.
"Our long-term goal is to consolidate the company's position mainly in Western Europe. The acquisition of the Finnish company TransTech is one of the steps to accomplish this goal."
 
Skoda Transportation chairman of the Board Tomáš Krsek said: "In recent years Škoda Transportation Group had great achievements especially on foreign markets.
 
"Our long-term goal is to consolidate the company's position mainly in Western Europe. The acquisition of the Finnish company TransTech is one of the steps to accomplish this goal."
 
TransTech's main products include double-deck electric cars (operated as pushpull sets), trams and engineering products.
 
Currently, the company is supplying 100% low-floor trams with fully pivotable bogies for the Finnish capital Helsinki.
 
Skoda Transportation Sales vice-president Zdenek Majer said: "With this acquisition Skoda Transportation is becoming a key player in the field of railway and urban rail vehicles on the Finnish market.
 
"Equally significant is the fact that this trade significantly improves the starting position of Skoda business development all throughout Scandinavia."
 
Currently, TransTech's product portfolio includes low-floor trams and electric units, as well as wagons for transporting cars.
 
TransTech member of the Board Leif Ekstrom said: "We are pleased that Skoda Transportation Group has become the new majority shareholder of TransTech, especially because it is an investor from the same field.
 
"In addition, Skoda Transportation has its own broad product portfolio and thereby can contribute to further development of TransTech company. The original owner, Ilka Brotherus remains a minority shareholder, via the company Sinituote Oy."