Interview: Gerd Bonte about global strategy and local assembly

Voith Turbo currently has #rail production sites all around the world – e.g. in China, the Czech Republic, the US and India. By shifting the assembly of our products to additional local sites, we are not only minimizing costs, but also protecting the environment.

At the same time, this allows us to respond more efficiently to local #marketneeds and to build closer #customerrelations.

We spoke to Gerd Bonte, Vice President Global Sales Management Gear Units at Voith, about this topic ...

How did you manage the local assembly of the first gear unit in Turkiye for Türasa??

First of all, we have been very happy that the Turkish manufacturer TüRASA? ordered 19 train sets, including 190 of our SZ-450 gear units, to be installed in the new National EMU Türkiye (ETU2) for the State Railways of the Republic of Turkiye ( Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet Demiryollar? (TCDD) ). So we decided to start with the assembly of the first gear unit on site in Turkiye as soon as possible.

The stability of the product and the project was secured by the strong cooperation between global and local experts. In the end, that was our key to success.

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What impact does this milestone have on the future global strategy of Voith Turbo?

This milestone is an important step in our strategy to expand the Voith Turbo portfolio and strengthen our position as a leading global supplier of rail vehicle components. Furthermore, the successful assembly of the first gear unit in Turkiye underscores our ability to offer innovative solutions that meet the needs of our customers worldwide. And it also demonstrates our commitment to local manufacturing and availability – not only in Turkiye.

Are there plans to further strengthen local availability in other regions?

For sure, we are highly motivated to grow globally and see great potential to strengthen our presence in other regions where we already operate locally. Our aim is to provide customized solutions and meet the requirements of OEMs and operators on site. We will continue to work closely with our local partners and pursue our strategy to further consolidate our position in the global market.

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