Bombardier opens new $64M production hall at sprawling Poland rail plant
by Canadian Manufacturing.com Staff
Expansion at company's Wroclaw, Poland facility to support production of high-speed rail cars for German operator Deutsche Bahn
The new plant will support the Deutsche Bahn’s Ice4 high-speed rail project. PHOTO: DeffiSK, via Wikimedia Commons
WROCLAW, Poland—Bombardier Inc. has officially thrown open the doors to a new 20,000 square metre (approximately 215,000 square foot) production and paint hall at its rail manufacturing complex in Wroclaw—a major city in western Poland once known as Breslau.
The Canadian company’s Transportation division invested approximately US$64 million in the expansion project to support an impending production ramp-up on a high-speed rail car program for German operator Deutsche Bahn.
Bombardier said the new hall includes “unique” 3D laser-welding technology and will strengthen Poland’s position in the European rail market.
“As we’re investing in a new state-of-the-art car body production hall, we’re developing our employees’ skills, as well as the capabilities of our Wroclaw site,” said Janusz Kucmin, Bombardier Transportation’s chief country representative for Poland. “We expect to partner more closely with Poland to further equip the country with our broad and performing portfolio of rail solutions.”
The Polish city and rail plant have a long history, producing rolling stock as far back as the 1830s. Bombardier acquired the site in 2001 and has produced its Traxx locomotive, along with several other products at the site since.
The major expansion increases the sprawling plant’s footprint to 190,300 square meters (about two million square feet).
