Mar 25, 2013– Chemnitz, Germany (Techreleased) – Voith Engineering Services, headquartered in Chemnitz, has received an order for development of a low-floor tram meeting the latest technical requirements from the Xiangtan Electric Manufacturing Group. Furthermore, the engineering company is to take over the entire manufacturing planning. The project volume is 7 million Euros.
The project starts at the end of March 2013 and is planned for implementation by the end of 2014. In order to meet this time frame, close cooperation with the customer is being sought. “For this, we will train 15 Chinese employees in Chemnitz for the necessary processes,” says Dr. Vogel and thus refers to the company’s third big area of competence, the specialized recruitment and training of skilled workers.
This training is also done with a view to possible long-term collaboration. “The plan is to generate a complete line of vehicles from the low-floor tram now being developed that will meet the various customer requirements in different Chinese regions,” says Frank Salzwedel, Manager for Development/Technology.
The project for the Xiangtan Electric Manufacturing Group is already the second large undertaking that Voith Engineering Services is implementing for a Chinese client. Last year, the Chemnitz Voith engineers developed a low-floor tram for the railway vehicle manufacturer China CNR Corporation Limited. Together with China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock, Xiangtan Electric Manufacturing and China CNR are the main players that are implementing a Chinese state program for expansion of mass transit. “We are glad that two of these companies have already decided in favor of Voith as an external development partner,” Dr. Vogel emphasizes.
With these two orders, Voith is further expanding its position as a provider for the development and production planning of railway and tram vehicles. “Together with overall factory planning, our offering of overall vehicle planning is increasingly being taken up in the market,” says Dr. Vogel with satisfaction.
