Berlin/Stuttgart/Zurich, 16 March 1995
Edzard Reuter, Chairman of Daimler-Benz, and Percy Barnevik, President and CEO of ABB, announced that the merger of rail activities between ABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd and AEG Daimler-Benz Industrie will establish a strategic partnership for long-lasting, successful access to the highly competitive and attractive world market. On presenting the news of the joint venture on Thursday, 16 March 1995 to the press in Berlin, the top managers of both parent companies emphasised that the new corporation will start operations with a world-wide market share of 11 to 12%.According to Percy Barnevik "this strategic partnership will create a strong new competitor who is well positioned for long-term growth in all of the world's rail markets. Economies of scale will give it cost and quality advantages over what we could achieve on our own. We will be able to deliver more to our customers, which will be both good for Daimler-Benz and ABB".
Edzard Reuter said: "The partnership with ABB underscores that Daimler-Benz, be it alone or in conjunction with other companies of similar heritage, has the strength, substance and sovereignty to become a global leader for comprehensive solutions in the sphere of traffic and transport. In addition to Mercedes-Benz and Daimler-Benz Aerospace, both of which are already global players in the fields of vehicle manufacturing and road transport as well as aerospace, AEG Daimler-Benz Industrie has now - subject to the forthcoming approval procedures - accomplished the same in the area of rail traffic, a sector which is instrumental to our Group composition". The joint venture is also intended as an important stepping stone for the further internationalisation of corporate activities of Daimler-Benz.
Ernst G. Stöckl, member of the board of Daimler-Benz and CEO of AEG Daimler-Benz Industrie stated: "On the grounds of enlarged sales and higher profits the joint corporation will be ideally positioned to develop and supply innovative, cost efficient and customer oriented products and systems and to act as a leader in innovation within the sector." Stöckl, the forthcoming head of the supervisory board of the joint corporation announced further: "We foresee especially in the growth markets of Asia a proliferation of large-scale projects. Orders in the region of DM2bn will not be uncommon. Above all, our customers will increasingly call for comprehensive system solutions including the respective financial arrangements. On the grounds of the now achieved size and financial standing of our joint corporation we are in an ideal position to meet the customers' requirements."
Kaare Vagner, currently Executive Vice President of the ABB Group and head of the ABB's transportation segment and who will become president and CEO of the joint company, said: "We plan to build on the strong local operations we have in all of our key markets. In Europe, with rail operators going through a period of deregulation and privatisation, and with the demand for improved rail infrastructure developments with Central and Eastern Europe, we see good growth prospects. But we also see environmental concerns driving growth in demand for urban mass transit systems in North America and Asia."
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