– Sydac to strengthen its position among the top two railway simulator suppliers
Knorr-Bremse AG, the global market leader for braking systems and a leading supplier of other rail and commercial vehicle systems, has sold its Sydac driver training simulators business for rail vehicles to Oktal, a subsidiary of the French Sogeclair group.
The divesture of Sydac is part of a realignment of Knorr-Bremse’s portfolio in rail vehicle systems and reflects Knorr-Bremse’s increased focus on its connected onboard railway subsystems and related services. Under the strategic ownership of Oktal, Sydac can concentrate fully on the business and make better use of market opportunities. This move will enable the Sydac business to remain competitive in the long term.
The agreement between Knorr-Bremse and Oktal includes the full takeover of Sydac Pty Ltd in Australia, its U.K. subsidiary Sydac Limited and its Indian subsidiary Sydac Simulation Technologies India Pvt Ltd. Oktal will also take over the driver simulator business from TDS (Train Dynamic systems), a unit of New York Air Brake LLC.
“We are continuing to focus on our core competencies as a key supplier for the railway industry – offering subsystems and components and related services. Knorr-Bremse is therefore carrying out a strategic realignment and has decided to divest its holding in Sydac,” says Klaus Deller, Chairman of the Executive Board of Knorr-Bremse AG and responsible for the Rail Vehicle Systems division.
For Laurent Salanqueda, Managing Director of Oktal SAS, the lead company in the simulation division, “Sydac offers products which are compatible with a wide range of freight and new train models. It also brings us geographic expansion in Asia, particularly in China and India, opening up new opportunities for the entire division.”
Philippe Robardey, Sogeclair’s Chairman and CEO, says that “with this acquisition, we are strengthening the Group’s product turnover, accelerating the development of our simulation division and opening our first locations in the Asia-Pacific region.”
Sydac specializes in driver training simulation and has been at the forefront of commercial applications of simulation technologies since it was formed in 1988. The company was purchased by Knorr-Bremse in 2009 and has since been a wholly owned subsidiary of Knorr-Bremse Australia Pty Ltd with around 100 employees.
The product portfolio covers the entire range of driver training simulation tools and solutions. Sydac also undertakes to maintain and renovate existing simulators manufactured by Sydac or third parties in response to issues of obsolescence or new training and assessment requirements.
Knorr-Bremse is the global market leader for braking systems and a leading supplier of other safetycritical rail and commercial vehicle systems. Knorr-Bremse’s products make a decisive contribution to greater safety and energy efficiency on rail tracks and roads around the world. For more than 110 years the company has been the industry innovator, driving innovation in mobility and transportation technologies with an edge in connected system solutions. Knorr-Bremse is one of Germany’s most successful industrial companies and profits from the key global megatrends: urbanization, ecoefficiency, digitization and automated driving.
About 28,000 employees at over 100 sites in more than 30 countries use their competence and motivation to satisfy customers worldwide with products and services. Localization is a central focus of Knorr-Bremse’s strategy. Knorr-Bremse delivers braking, entrance, control and auxiliary power supply systems, HVAC and driver assistance systems for rail vehicles, as well as braking, steering, powertrain and transmission control solutions, and driver assistance systems for commercial vehicles.
In 2017, Knorr-Bremse’s two divisions together generated revenues of EUR 6.2 billion (IFRS). A comprehensive aftermarket & services business with high entry barriers gives these revenues increasingly cyclically independent stability. The company benefits from strong, entrepreneurial and experienced management. Technical excellence, reliability, passion and responsibility are deeply embedded in its corporate culture.
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