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rail transport

Czech Railway Industry

increasingly expands abroad

The railway has a nearly two-hundred-year history in the Czech Republic and

the Czech railway industry itself has grown well beyond the borders of our country.

Members of the Association of Railway Industry Industries (ACRI) currently operate

in more than 20 countries.

in Italy, Austria and Belgium. This helps

the company win foreign contracts, for

example producing subway trains for

Warsaw and trams for seven German cities. Asian countries may also be critical for

the Czech industry, especially India, which

is a great opportunity for the future expansion of Czech companies. DAKO-CZ,

a specialist in braking systems for rolling

stock, established two joint ventures in India last year and plans to set up its own

subsidiary there this year. For the development of foreign relations and expansion, however, the trips within the framework of economic diplomacy projects,

which we prepare for our member companies in cooperation with the Ministry of

Foreign Affairs, are also important," says

Marie Vopálenská, Director General of

ACRI.

That is how companies strengthen their

export interests. Exports already account

for 60% of total production. It is thanks to

foreign representation that companies are

more resilient in times of crisis and can

win more international contracts. In addition, the expansion abroad and the creation of synergies also helps to maintain domestic employment and increase the

volume of purchase orders.

In industry, multiplier effects are quite visible, more than anywhere else, with one

T+T T e c h n i k a a t r h 5/ 2 0 2 3

new job creating an average of two or three service-related jobs. It is therefore certain that services are dependent on industry. Where industries are thriving, so is

the supply of services. It is foreign successes that help companies bring more finance into the Czech economy.

"In the last year alone, ACRI members

have expanded into several countries. The

largest Czech manufacturer of railway vehicles, Škoda Group, has expanded the

most, with new branch offices established

Europe, America and Asia

d

Czech companies have a very strong presence on the European market. AŽD Praha, a company dedicated to transport automation, has branches in Europe, for

example in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Poland, Slovakia, Serbia and Turkey.

In addition, it was recently awarded a large contract for the modernisation of a railway in Croatia thanks to its excellent references.

OLTIS Group's portfolio includes modern information systems for transport

and logistics and timetable systems. The

company is an integral part of rail solutions. This product is also sought after

around the world, and in addition to the

Czech Republic, the company has branch

offices in Slovakia, Poland and Hungary.

The Škoda Group runs a large plant in Finland for the production of modern trains

and trams. In addition, the Group has several other branches in, e.g. Germany, Poland and Ukraine.

The manufacturer of the wheelsets - Bonatrans - has a branch office in Germany,

one of Europe's key rail markets, giving

the company a better chance to compete

for large tenders. The company offers very innovative wheelset solutions for trains,