Swiss rolling stock manufacturer Stadler announced it was the sole shareholder of Solaris Tram after taking over the 40% share from CAF.
Solaris Tram is a joint venture established in 2017 by Solaris Bus&Coach and Stadler. At the beginning of 2018, the Spanish rolling stock manufacturer, CAF, bought 100% of Solaris Bus&Coach’s shares in this joint venture. CAF went even further and signed an agreement with the Polish investment fund, PFR, to take over 35% of Solaris Group’s shares.
Now Stadler owns the former factory of Solaris in Środa Wielkopolska, near Poznań, a unit with 250 employees. The factory specialises in the production of steel car bodies. The Swiss rolling stock manufacturer plans to invest PLN 65 million (EUR 15 million) to expand and modernise the Polish factory.
The investment will also facilitate the introduction of a new welding technology.
Solaris Tram will collaborate with Stadler Polska to participate in various tram delivery tenders in Poland, but also in neighbouring markets.
A Solaris Tram-Stadler Polska consortium has already won a contract for the delivery of 35 trams in Krakow which will be delivered from Stadler Siedlce factory. Trams have entered production since 2017. A framework agreement which envisages the delivery of 15 additional trams was signed in January 2018.
“In Poland, Stadler has over 1,400 employees in different cities. By taking over Solaris Tram, we express our interest in the Polish railway market”, declared Christian Spichiger, Executive Vice President of Stadler for Central Europe.
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