Knorr-Bremse AG has sold its Sydac driver training simulators business for rail vehicles to Oktal, a subsidiary of the French Sogeclair group.
The divesture of Sydac is part of a realignment of Knorr-Bremse’s portfolio in rail vehicle systems and reflects Knorr-Bremse’s increased focus on its connected onboard railway subsystems and related services. Under the strategic ownership of Oktal, Sydac can concentrate fully on the business and make better use of market opportunities. This move will enable the Sydac business to remain competitive in the long term.
The agreement between Knorr-Bremse and Oktal includes the full takeover of Sydac Pty Ltd in Australia, its U.K. subsidiary Sydac Limited and its Indian subsidiary Sydac Simulation Technologies India Pvt Ltd. Oktal will also take over the driver simulator business from TDS (Train Dynamic systems), a unit of New York Air Brake LLC.
“We are continuing to focus on our core competencies as a key supplier for the railway industry — offering subsystems and components and related services. Knorr-Bremse is therefore carrying out a strategic realignment and has decided to divest its holding in Sydac,” said Klaus Deller, chairman of the executive board of Knorr-Bremse AG and responsible for the Rail Vehicle Systems division.
Laurent Salanqueda, managing director of Oktal SAS said, “Sydac offers products which are compatible with a wide range of freight and new train models. It also brings us geographic expansion in Asia, particularly in China and India, opening up new opportunities for the entire division.”
Philippe Robardey, Sogeclair’s chairman and CEO, said that “with this acquisition, we are strengthening the Group’s product turnover, accelerating the development of our simulation division and opening our first locations in the Asia-Pacific region.”
Sydac specializes in driver training simulation and has been at the forefront of commercial applications of simulation technologies since it was formed in 1988. The company was pur- chased by Knorr-Bremse in 2009 and has since been a wholly owned subsidiary of Knorr- Bremse Australia Pty Ltd with around 100 employees.
The product portfolio covers the entire range of driver training simulation tools and solutions. Sydac also undertakes to maintain and renovate existing simulators manufactured by Sydac or third parties in response to issues of obsolescence or new training and assessment requirements.
