Solaris and Stadler announce new partnership

One of Poland’s leading public transit vehicle-producing companies will team up with a Swiss rail producer to develop a subsidiary that will produce tram vehicles in Poland, the Polish press reported on the weekend. “With this kind of cooperation, there is no better partner than Stadler, who is known worldwide as a manufacturer of rail vehicles,” said a representative of Solaris at a press conference. The stated goal of the partnership is to produce at least 110 tram units per year, utilizing both of Solaris’ Wielkopolska plants, the report stated. Zbigniew Palenica, a member of the board of Solaris, indicated that a quest for increased technical innovation – as well as secure and stable financing – was behind the company seeking the partnership with the Swiss train-maker, which already partners with companies worldwide. “As we know, in the field of patents and innovation Switzerland is number one in the world. It guarantees us that the quality of developed products will be the best,” he said. The agreement will commence January 1, 2017, with both companies holding an equal 40 percent stake in the new subsidiary. The remaining 20 percent of shares was not yet known at the time of the report’s release. Palenica added that the planned production of the trams will double capacity at its Wielkopolska factories.