Bogie and single axle suspension technology firm Powell Duffryn Rail announced on May 13 that is had been renamed Probotec Ltd, a name ’derived from Professional Bogie Technologies.’
To allow for expansion, AEA Technology is to move part of its Rail Products business from Derby to its Glengarnock technology centre, currently home of the technology and consultancy firm’s battery manufacturing division.
On April 23 Fite-CV bought for KC302m the Czech government’s 85% stake in CKD Praha Holding, which includes CKD Vagónka and stakes in CKD DIZ and CKD Chlazeni. Rolling stock builder CKD Vagónka recorded a profit of KC58m on a turnover of KC1·6bn in 2003.
Investment company Grove Industries has bought STS Signals Ltd, which supplies signalling and electrical components.
Several domestic and foreign investors are reported to be interested in taking over the assets of rolling stock maintenance and repair company ZOS Nymburk, which has begun bankruptcy proceedings.
Trelleborg Industrial AVS has established a customer contact centre in Edinburgh as a single point of contact for its Swedish and UK factories.
Mowlem Railways: Small Works has been launched by Mowlem plc to provide specialist support works for rail infrastructure projects valued at less than £2·5m.
Orders for new freight wagons in North America totalled 17962 in the first quarter of 2004, the highest level for more than five years, according to data released by the Railway Supply Institute. This compares with the 11767 wagons ordered during the same period in 2003, but is still well below the 25386 ordered in the third quarter of 1998. Deliveries in the first quarter of this year reached a three-year high of 10012, and manufacturers had a total order backlog of 41392 cars, up 72% from a year ago.
