Stadler takes over Germany’s BBR Group to expand signalling expertise

Signalling tech and digitalisation company BBR Verkehrstechnik GmbH and its group companies are being taken over by Stadler

The takeover means that the Swiss rail manufacturer will expand it’s in-house expertise in signalling technology and digitalisation which are essential in these future-based areas.

As the two companies come together, it will mean even stronger provision for pioneering solutions, pushing ahead with future digitalisation for the rail industry.

In November 2021, Stadler built on its position in this area by acquiring Swiss company Bär Bahnsicherung AG. Stadler will focus their complete signalling portfolio by creating a new division from the 1st of January 2022.

The purchase of BBR means that Stadler has secured a partner that brilliantly complements its expanding range of products in the area of signalling technology, before this move Stadler had focused its signalling based activities on the on-board equipment of rail-bound vehicles with signalling technology.

Stadler entered the Swiss interlocking market with Bär Bahnsicherung and now with BBR, who are a well-established international company and will be able to bring the experience and knowledge necessary to work together in pushing forward the digitalisation of the global railway infrastructure.

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BBR has been a leader in supplying solutions in the field of rail safety for over 30 years with their signalling technology being used successfully by rail operators right around the world. Infrastructure related solutions like electronic interlockings, train detection systems and points operating equipment feature in BBR’s portfolio which also includes onboard equipment for rolling stock manufacturers and development work, especially in the areas of interlockings, train protection and component retrofits.

Employing approximately 270 people in their head office in Braunschweig (Germany) and at its site in Vufflens-la-Ville near Lausanne (Switzerland) will be kept on by Stadler along with BBR’s current employees. The take over will see Stadler’s number of employees in the Signalling area rise to more than 500.

Chairman of the Board of Directors and Group CEO a.i. of Stadler, Peter Spuhler, said: “To ensure our independence, we have steadily built up our own Signalling activities since 2016. We are very pleased to gain long-standing signalling know-how and experienced specialists for Stadler by taking on the BBR team. The merger of our two companies forms an excellent basis for offering our customers innovative signalling solutions from a single source – both on the vehicle and on the infrastructure side. BBR products win over customers all over the world – especially in the field of urban mobility. We are convinced that together we can play a decisive role in shaping the digitalisation of the railway industry as innovation leaders,”

BBR founders Arne Baudis, Thomas Bergmann and Frank-Michael Rösch, said: “After handing over operational responsibility for the company in 2017, we were on the lookout for strategic partnerships internationally. In Stadler, BBR has found a strong and highly innovative partner. As a Swiss company, Stadler has a similar corporate culture to that forged at BBR – medium-sized, flexible and respectful. The Braunschweig site will be further expanded to become a centre of excellence with state-of-the-art development and production capacities for the digitalisation of rail transport.”

Stadler moved into the signalling business in 2016 to enable them to operate free of dependency on direct competitors in the area. Now, Stadler can provide a vital component for modern train technology itself and in order to make this so, they created their own engineering location on the Wallisellen site, which has become an independent company within the Stadler Group in early 2020.