Wabtec intends to continue to be in the right car

Train doors are waiting to be shipped. The red ones will be for a French TGV, the white ones for a tricolor regional train. As for the oranges, they will travel to northern Europe to equip a Norwegian train.

« Wabtec ⁽¹⁾ is everywhere, from trams to high-speed trains. The competition is tough, we don’t have all the market shares, but we will find one of our products every time”explains Patrick Rosay, general manager of Touraine within the American group to 27,000 employees worldwide, including 800 between Saint-Pierre-des-Corps and La Ville-aux-Dames.

A rapprochement in 2026

In the third quarter of 2026, everyone will work on the Corpopétrussien site. The work begins. “There were two lives in parallel, 2.5 km from each other. We began to share the management, human resources and finance teams. It is a rationalization approach to facilitate governance and create synergies and efficiencies”adds the general director. The La Ville-aux-Dames site will be sold.

In Touraine, Wabtec has two activities. An electromechanical part with the design and production of landing doors (on platforms) and on-board doors (in trains), and a manufacturing component of electronic systems: black box, control boxes, security systems, information screens, etc. .

Wabtec works on new trains but also in after-sales service: “We sell spare parts, service, product improvements. The lifespan of a train is thirty to forty years and there are maintenance phases to refresh and rejuvenate the products”adds Patrick Rosay.

The Tours sites are skills centers for the Wabtec group. “We have the references here in terms of painting, gluing, crimping, welding and surface treatment. We can also talk about after-sales service, people come to us to find out how to repair or improve a product. We have a role of gray matter”specifies the manager.

Metal parts by 3D printing

To continue to be efficient, Wabtec is therefore constantly recruiting and “is still on the hunt. We call on temporary workers, we have partnerships with universities and engineering schools. We are lobbying to seek out young talents. »

Recently, the Touraine site has added a nice string to its bow with the appearance of a 3D printing machine which manufactures metal products. “We adapt to the problems of customers who need parts so as not to block a train for too long. We are now able to make parts on demand within two or three weeks when it previously took several months”concludes Patrick Rosay.

(1) The American group acquired the French company Faiveley Transports in 2016, then the American conglomerate General Electric in 2018.

Wabtec Touraine, avenue Yves-Farge in Saint-Pierre-des-Corps, rue Amelia-Earhart in La Ville-aux-Dames. Such. 02.47.32.55.55, www.wabteccorp.com.

Manager: Patrick Rosay, general director.

Workforce: 800 people.

2023 turnover: 184 million euros.