German engineering group Tognum and Russia’s leading rolling stock producer Transmashholding have signed an agreement to set up a joint venture in Russia for the development and production of high-performance diesel engines.
Engines of MTU’s current Series 4000 are to be assembled for locomotives, mining vehicles and distributed energy systems commencing in 2013 in a jointly run plant in Kolomna, south of Moscow region.
In the medium term, the partners plan to manufacture a new engine designed specifically for the needs of Russia as well as of other Eastern European and Asian countries.
The engine will be developed in a joint engineering centre and is also intended to be used in marine applications. The medium-term goal is to manufacture up to 1,000 engines a year in Kolomna with a workforce of several hundred employees.
“As a result of the joint venture with Transmashholding, our engines and drive systems will now be available on the Russian and CIS market for a wide range of applications,” said Volker Heuer, CEO of Tognum AG, at the signing of the joint venture agreement.
“It offers us the unique opportunity of being able to reap the optimum benefit from the growth prospects available to us in this important and growing region.”
“Cooperation with MTU in the field of development of new diesel engines creates excellent opportunities for growth of diesel engine building in Russia,” the Chairman of TMH Board of Directors Andrey Bokarev said.
The first engines for Russia to be marketed jointly will come from the production facilities in Friedrichshafen.
Commencing in 2013, engines assembled, tested and painted in Russia are then to be launched on the market. It is planned to increase the depth of manufacturing in Russia step by step.
The joint venture company with registered office in the Netherlands will operate as Tognum Transmashholding B.V. and will be owned by the partners on a 50/50 basis, with Tognum appointing the Director General and TMH the CFO.
A fully owned subsidiary of Tognum Transmashholding, Tognum-TMH Diesel Technologies, will be responsible for sales and also the production of engines at a later date.
