Knorr-Bremse to acquire brake friction material specialist ICER Rail

Knorr-Bremse plans to acquire the joint venture ICER Rail in its entirety. Through this move, Knorr-Bremse is extending its position in the field of friction materials –an important, technically demanding part of the braking system. The parties have agreed to treat the purchase price as a confidential matter. The acquisition is subject to approval by the anti-trust authorities.

ICER Rail was founded in 2010 as a joint venture between the Spanish Berkelium Group and Knorr-Bremse. Today, it is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of friction materials for rail vehicles. In Pamplona, Spain, the company develops and produces innovative friction materials for almost all railway applications.

“The complete acquisition of ICER Rail is the next logical step for Knorr-Bremse in our rail friction materials strategy,” said Klaus Deller, Chairman of the Executive Board of Knorr-Bremse AG. “Being able to develop braking systems and friction materials from start to finish helps us to further improve the braking effect, cut life cycle costs and reduce noise, benefiting our customers and the environment.”

The acquisition forms part of Knorr-Bremse’s ongoing growth strategy. Back in 2008, Knorr-Bremse acquired Anchor Brake Shoes, the leading North American brake shoe manufacturer for locomotives and freight cars. This was followed in 2010 by the formation of the joint venture ICER Rail, which enabled Knorr-Bremse to round off its range with organic brake pads and brake shoes for vehicles that comply with the European UIC standard. Recently, in February 2016, Knorr-Bremse acquired the rail transport activities of brake pad specialist TMD Friction.

About Knorr-Bremse

The Knorr-Bremse Group based in Munich is the world’s leading manufacturer of braking systems for rail and commercial vehicles. For more than 110 years now the company has pioneered the development, production, marketing and servicing of state-of-the-art braking systems. In 2014, Knorr-Bremse reported sales of €5.2 billion and employed more than 23,000 people worldwide.

The Rail Vehicle Systems division of this long-established company equips mass transit vehicles such as metro cars and light rail vehicles, as well as freight trains, locomotives, mainline passenger trains and high-speed trains with highly advanced products. Along with braking systems these include intelligent entrance systems, HVAC systems, auxiliary power supply systems, control components and windscreen wiper systems, platform screen doors, friction material, driver assistance systems, and control technology. In addition, Knorr-Bremse offers driving simulators and e-learning systems for optimum train crew training.

The Commercial Vehicle Systems division offers its customers braking systems for trucks, buses, trailers and agricultural machinery. In the chassis systems sector, Knorr-Bremse is a leading player in electronic controls and driver assistance systems as well as in air supply systems. Other product fields include powertrain-related systems and torsional vibration dampers for diesel engines.

With all of its products Knorr-Bremse makes a decisive contribution to safety on road and rail around the world. Every day more than one billion people worldwide put their trust in Knorr-Bremse systems.