Windhoff is a German manufacturer of specialised railways rolling stock, and heavy industrial plant. The company was founded in 1889.
The company is well known for its
CargoSprinter rail vehicle, and derivatives.
History
The company started out as the ' (Machine Factory of Rheine) in
Rheine
Rheine () is a city in the district of Steinfurt (district), Steinfurt in Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest city in the district and the location of Rheine Air Base.
Geography
Rheine is on the river Ems (river), Ems, about north of Münster ...
near Münster, Germany in 1889 manufacturing machines for the
weaving
Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...
industry and founded by Rudolf Windhoff. By 1901 the company was employing over 100 people.
As similar control mechanisms were used for steam-driven automated weaving looms and for stream-driven railway
traversers and
turntables
A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration Waveform, waveforms are recorded as correspond ...
, Rudolf Windhoff also founded the ' (Windhoff Brothers' Engine and Vehicle Factory).
In 1913, these two private companies were combined to form the share-based ' (Windhoff Machine Factory Rheine). This combined company suffered losses during the 1930s. Later, a bomb destroyed the manufacturing premises on 5 October 1944.
In 1957 the company stopped manufacturing normal locomotives and start to concentrate on tracking machines (
ballast tamper
A tamping machine or ballast tamper, informally simply a tamper, is a self-propelled, rail-mounted machine used to pack (or tamp) the track ballast under railway tracks to make the tracks and roadbed more durable and level. Prior to the intr ...
s).
The Windhoff company was first listed on the stock exchange in 1993.
On 19 December 2001,
the main company was declared bankrupt and the industrial plant and railway engineering divisions being taken over on 1 March 2002,
to become part of Georgsmarienhütte Holdings GmbH.
The Windhoff division, as ' (Windhoff Railway- and Equipment Technology) continues to supply specialist railway vehicles and infrastructure with a team of around 250 people.
The company is an approved railway contractor for in the United Kingdom, Sweden and Norway.
Products
Windhoff manufactures specialised rail vehicles including the diesel
freight multiple unit the
CargoSprinter, and the
Windhoff MPV
The CargoSprinter is a freight multiple unit designed to transport freight or equipment. The CargoSprinter was designed by Windhoff GmbH (Germany) in the mid-1990s.
Initially seven vehicles were built for Deutsche Bahn. Four were built by W ...
, used for infrastructure and service trains, as well as electric and diesel shunting machines, shunting locomotives, and stationary shunting equipment. The company also manufactures a wide variety of rail service equipment including lifting equipment,
traversers and
turntables
A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration Waveform, waveforms are recorded as correspond ...
and equipment for wheelset maintenance including wheel and bogie drop machines, and wheelset and bogie measuring equipment.
Windhoff has a contract to supply
Network Rail
Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and railway infrastructure manager, infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. ...
with a factory train which will be used by
Amey plc
Amey plc, previously known as Amey Ltd and Amey Roadstone Construction, is a British engineering company that specializes in infrastructure support services.
Amey was founded by William Charles Amey in 1921. The firm grew rapidly during the Se ...
in the
Great Western electrification project.
The company also manufactures equipment for heavy industrial plants, including steel-works equipment such as ladle transporters and tippers,
torpedo wagons (in association with
IAG-MAGNUM), and machinery for steel coil handling.
[Windhoff website, "Plant Technologies", March 2012]
References
External links
*{{citation, url = http://www.windhoff.com/, work = www.windhoff.com, title = Windhoff GmbH Online, language = German, English, company website
Rolling stock manufacturers of Germany