Søren Skou has been appointed Chairman of the Advisory Board of VTG GmbH, succeeding Dr Alexander Granderath. Skou has held leadership positions in the Maersk Group since 1983, and was part of the executive board of AP Moller-Maersk from 2007 and CEO in 2016-22.
Backed with a loan from Russia’s Industrial Development Fund, the Murom Machine Building Plant in Vladimirskaya oblast has opened a workshop to produce components for Uraltransmash trams and Metrowagonmash metro cars.
Patrick Jeantet has succeeded Louis Nègre as President of France’s Fédération des Industries Ferroviaires.
Xavier Sarrat has been appointed Chief Procurement Officer at Pandrol. He was previously Associate VP, Global Procurement, for Agilent Technology, and replaces Olivier Jullien who has taken on a strategic role supporting Pandrol’s On-Track 2028 strategy to enhance the company’s industrial footprint and supply chain.
Transmashholding has started series production of Ivolga 4.0 electric multiple-units at its Tver plant. This follows the announcement in December that design had been certified as compliant with Customs Union requirements. The EMUs are primarily to be used to replace existing rolling stock on the 86 km Moskva Central Diameter 4.
Blackfinch Group’s venture capital arm completed a £1·3m round of investments in December, including follow-on funding for Tended which develops wearable geofencing technology to improve the safety of railway track workers.
The US Railway Supply Institute has called for swift passage of the Tax Relief for American Families & Workers bill. It ‘restores tax policies critical to our members’ operations’, said RSI President Patty Long, adding that this would ‘enable our members to continue innovating, expanding operations and adding more jobs for American workers. Not only will this further the US economy, but it will also enable our members to maintain and expand their US and nearshore presence.’ According to RSI, the domestic railway supply industry supports more than 682 400 direct, indirect and induced jobs.
The Vita Group’s rail and aircraft seat business Metzo has acquired Paustian Airtex, which supplies leather and textile products for the aviation sector including seat covers, pockets, curtains, flooring or panels. The Paustian sites in Germany and Poland give Vita enhanced cut and sew capabilities as it aims to broaden its capabilities and enhance its presence in the aviation and rail markets.