Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation, commonly known as Wabtec, is an American company formed by the merger of the

Westinghouse Air Brake Company The Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation (WABCO) was an American company founded on September 28, 1869 by George Westinghouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Earlier in the year he had invented the railway air brake in New York state. A ...

(WABCO) and

MotivePower MotivePower, Inc. (MPI) was an American manufacturer of diesel-electric locomotives. The company traces its history back to being a division of Morrison-Knudsen (MK) since 1972. It is headquartered in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. Wabtec manufactures products for

locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...

freight cars A railroad car, railcar (American English, American and Canadian English), railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck (British English and International Union of Railways, UIC), also called a tra ...

and passenger transit vehicles, and builds new locomotives up to . It is a

Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune (magazine), Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States Joint-stock company#Closely held corporations and publicly traded corporations, corporations by ...

company. The company purchased

GE Transportation GE Transportation is a division of Wabtec. It was known as GE Rail and owned by General Electric until sold to Wabtec on February 25, 2019. The organization manufactures equipment for the railroad, marine, mining, drilling and energy generatio ...

on February 25, 2019.

History

The company's origins go back to 1869 with the founding of the

. That company (known as WA&B and later also as WABCO) became independent in 1990 via a management buy-out, and went public in 1995. (Another company,

WABCO Vehicle Control Systems WABCO Holdings, Inc. was a U.S.-based provider of electronic braking, stability, suspension and transmission automation systems for heavy-duty commercial vehicles. In 2007, the Vehicle Control Systems was spun off as WABCO Holdings Inc., an Americ ...

, also created from the Westinghouse Brake Company, is independent of Wabtec. It was spun off by American Standard Companies in 2007, and is today part of German automotive components firm

ZF Friedrichshafen ZF Friedrichshafen AG, also known as ZF Group, originally ''Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen'' (), and commonly abbreviated to ZF, is a Germany, German technology manufacturing company that supplies systems for passenger cars, commercial vehicles ...

.) The other company forming Wabtec,

Boise Boise ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Located on the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and nor ...

. In 1994 Morrison Knudsen created a subsidiary MK Rail Corporation; during the first half of the same decade the MK Rail group expanded with the acquisition of various other locomotive component companies. In 1996, MK Rail group separated from the parent Morrison Knudsen and adopted the name MotivePower Industries Corporation. In the later half of the 1990s additional companies were acquired – again all in the locomotive components business. MotivePower, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wabtec, continues to manufacture locomotives. The corporate

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name that it represents, as in ...

is said to represent an axial view of a mechanical brake valve, where different air ports line up between the 'stator' and 'rotor' depending upon the handle position. On June 10, 2023, United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America workers at Wabtec's

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pen ...

, plant went on strike. Issues included pay, healthcare benefits, paid time off, prohibitions on grievance strikes, and the number of tier-4 emission rules compliant locomotives built at the Erie plant. The strike ended on August 31 with an agreement that raised the pay of workers.

Mergers and acquisitions

In March 2010, Wabtec announced that it had purchased Xorail, a railway signaling design and construction company for $40 million. In July 2010, Wabtec announced the plan to purchase two manufacturers of rail equipment, G&B Specialties and Bach-Simpson Corp. The companies produce track products and locomotive components respectively. The acquisition of G&B Specialties was completed on July 28, 2010, for approximately $31.8 million. The acquisition of Bach-Simpson Corporation was completed on August 20, 2010, for approximately $12.0 million. In November 2010, Wabtec acquired all of the assets of Swiger Coil Systems, a

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

-based manufacturer of traction motors and electric coils for rail and power generation markets, for approximately $43.0 million. On June 14, 2012, Wabtec acquired Mors Smitt Holding for a purchase price of $88.4 million. On June 6, 2014, Wabtec acquired Fandstan Electric Group, a rail and industrial equipment manufacturer, for a purchase price of $199.4 million. On June 17, 2015, Wabtec acquired all three units of Metalocaucho (MTC), which are leaders in the field of suspension and anti-vibration systems in Spain, China and India, for a purchase price of $23.4 million. On July 27, 2015, Wabtec announced that it plans to purchase 51% of Faiveley Transport's shares in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $1.8 billion, including debt. The deal closed on December 1, 2016, for a total of $1.7 billion. On August 21, 2014, Wabtec acquired Dia-Frag, a manufacturer of friction products including motorcycle braking, for a purchase price of $70.6 million. On October 12, 2015, Wabtec announced its acquisition of lineside sensor manufacturer Track IQ. On April 20, 2018, it was reported that

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

(GE), undergoing a strategic review, was in talks to sell its century-old locomotive business,

, to Wabtec, according to people familiar with the matter. On May 21, 2018, GE and Wabtec confirmed the merger of GE Transportation with Wabtec in an $11 billion deal, completed on February 25, 2019, which saw Wabtec shareholders take a 50.8% shareholding in the merged company, with GE shareholders owning 24.3% and GE itself 24.9%. On 4 January 2022, it was announced that Wabtec had acquired the New Delhi-based railway friction business, Masu, for 34 million USD. On 20 April 2022, it was announced that Wabtec acquired Trimble’s Beena Vision business. On 16 June 2022, it was announced that Wabtec acquired Collins Aerospace ARINC rail solutions. On 16 June 2023, it was announced that Wabtec acquired L&M Radiator, a heat exchanger manufacturer in Hibbing, Minnesota. In March 2025, coupler manufacturer

Dellner Dellner Couplers AB is a Swedish original equipment manufacturer of train connection systems such as couplers, gangway systems and dampers. The headquarter of the company is in Vika in the Falun Municipality. The company operates 17 subsidi ...

was purchased.

United Kingdom

Brush Traction

Wabtec bought

Brush Traction Brush Traction was a manufacturer and maintainer of railway locomotives in Loughborough, England whose operations have now been merged into the Wabtec company's Doncaster UK operations. History Hughes' Locomotive & Tramway Engine Wor ...

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood (borough), Charnwood Borough of Leicestershire, England; it is the administrative centre of Charnwood Borough Council. At the United Kingdom 2021 census, the town's built-up area had a popula ...

, an English locomotive builder and maintainer, for US$31 million on 25 February 2011.

Bearward Engineering

In November 2011, Wabtec acquired Bearward Engineering, an industrial radiator manufacturer employing some 300 people based in

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

, England. Bearward Engineering mainly makes cooling systems for power generators. At the time of purchase Bearward had an annual sales of US$70 million.

Breknell Willis

Wabtec acquired Brecknell Willis Composites Ltd in 2014. Brecknell Willis is now a brand within the Wabtec group. Wabtec has since closed the production facility in Chard, Somerset, where Brecknell Willis was based, transferring production to other Wabtec plants in 2023. The office in Chard continues to function for engineering, project management, and sales.

Wabtec Rail UK

Wabtec Rail is a railway engineering company based in at the

Doncaster Works Doncaster Railway Works is a railway workshop located in Doncaster, England. Also referred to as ''The Plant'', it was established by the Great Northern Railway (England), Great Northern Railway in 1853, replacing the previous works in Boston, ...

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

, England. It was purchased by Wabtec in 1998. Services include the overhaul and repair of railway rolling stock and components. Wabtec Rail occupies part of the former

British Rail Engineering Limited British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) was the rolling stock manufacturing and maintenance subsidiary of British Rail. It was established on 1 January 1970 by the British Railways Board to operate its 14 rolling stock maintenance centres and ...

site known locally as the Plant Works. The two main unions on site ( Unite and RMT) gave notice on November 3, 2014, of their intention to ballot their members for industrial action over a pay dispute, for the first time in Wabtec Rail Limited's history. It is scheduled to close in 2025.

Wabtec Rail Scotland

Wabtec Rail Scotland occupied the

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

works of the former locomotive builder Andrew Barclay Sons & Company. It closed in 2020.

LH Group Services

Wabtec announced the $48 million acquisition of diesel engine, transmission and bogie overhaul and industrial locomotive supplier LH Group on October 1, 2012. Based at Barton-under-Needwood, LH has around 400 employees and annual sales of US$65m, about 10% of which are in non-rail markets.

Battery electric locomotive

In September 2021, at an event in

, Wabtec unveiled the world’s first battery-electric freight locomotive. It was the result of a joint venture with

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

, and is part of an initiative by the two organizations to develop zero-emissions technology. Using a traditional locomotive body, the usual

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

has been replaced by a large bank of batteries, which drive the traction motors of the locomotive.

Regenerative braking Regenerative braking is an energy recovery mechanism that slows down a moving vehicle or object by converting its kinetic energy or potential energy into a form that can be either used immediately or stored until needed. Typically, regenerativ ...

is used to help recharge the batteries. Wabtec claimed that the next version of the locomotive, to be developed within two years, would reduce the consumption of diesel fuel by nearly a third, and that emissions could entirely eliminated through the development of accompanying hydrogen fuel cells. The first battery locomotives were for the Roy Hill railway line.Wabtec and Roy Hill unveil the first FLXdrive battery locomotive
Roy Hill February 20, 2024

References

External links

* {{authority control American brands Rolling stock manufacturers of the United States American companies established in 1999 Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1999 1869 establishments in Pennsylvania Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Westinghouse Electric Company