39-578: Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation , commonly known as Wabtec , is an American company formed by the merger of the Westinghouse Air Brake Company (WABCO) and MotivePower Industries Corporation in 1999. It is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania . Wabtec manufactures products for locomotives , freight cars and passenger transit vehicles , and builds new locomotives up to 6,000 horsepower (4 MW). It
78-416: 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
117-757: A pay dispute, for the first time in Wabtec Rail Limited's history. Wabtec Rail Scotland occupies the Kilmarnock works of the former locomotive builder Andrew Barclay Sons & Co. 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 in Staffordshire, LH has around 400 employees and annual sales of US$ 65m, about 10% of which are in non-rail markets. In September 2021, at an event in Pittsburgh , Wabtec unveiled
156-559: 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
195-451: A range of innovative products, including scrapers , cranes and bulldozers until 1967, when it shortened its name to "Wabco". In 1968 American Standard purchased Wabco. WABCO's direct successor companies include WABCO Vehicle Control Systems , a commercial vehicle air brake manufacturer now owned by ZF Friedrichshafen ; and Wabtec , a railway equipment manufacturer, which have been owned and operated independently of each other since
234-481: 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 ,
273-464: A train. To remedy that condition, George Westinghouse invented the quick-action triple valve in 1887. This triple valve system was tested by George Westinghouse on the CB&;Q West Burlington hill (Iowa) during 1887. It automatically vents air from the brake pipe locally on each car, which applies the brakes more quickly. For the air brake to be employed on electric railways, an air compressor that
312-533: A web-based application. Although Track IQ operates out of Australia, more than 150 of their systems have been installed around the world. The company currently services 14 countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Brasil, USA, South Africa, Mexico, Ireland, Northern Ireland, India, China, UK, Belgium, France and Norway. In 2014, Track IQ received the SNCF Innovation Award for its RailBAM (Bearing Acoustic Monitor) system, which detects damage to
351-502: A wholly owned subsidiary of Wabtec, continues to manufacture locomotives. The corporate logo 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 , plant went on strike. Issues included pay, healthcare benefits, paid time off, prohibitions on grievance strikes, and
390-508: Is a Fortune 500 company. The company purchased GE Transportation on February 25, 2019. The company's origins go back to 1869 with the founding of the Westinghouse Air Brake Company . 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 , also created from the Westinghouse Brake Company,
429-635: Is headquartered in Bern , Switzerland. WABCO Holdings was floated in a 2007 initial public offering by American Standard , WABCO's owners for 30 years. On 28 March 2019, it was announced that WABCO Holdings was to be bought by ZF Friedrichshafen for $ 7 billion US dollars, with the transaction completed in 2020. The United States Department of Justice stipulated that WABCO's North American heavy-vehicle steering components business (chiefly R.H. Sheppard Company, as acquired in 2017), had to be sold in order to preserve competition in this field. The first form of
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#1732775391203468-589: 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 .) The other company forming Wabtec, MotivePower Industries , can be traced back to 1972, with the formation of the MK Rail division by the Morrison Knudsen group and the purchase of a manufacturing facility in Boise . In 1994 Morrison Knudsen created
507-412: Is maintained in the train pipe and in the auxiliary air cylinders. To apply the brakes to all of the cars at about the same time, pressure is released from the train pipe, causing the triple valve on each car to apply the brakes. To release the brakes on each car, pressure is increased in the train pipe until an excess pressure above that of the pressure in each auxiliary cylinder is reached, which throws
546-520: Is powered by electricity is required. Powerful electric locomotives were produced by the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company and by other companies. In the 1930s, the company developed a wheel slide protection system called Decelostat that worked with its air brake. Track IQ Track IQ formerly known as Trackside Intelligence , is an international manufacturer and supplier of railway equipment and services for
585-528: 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 . Westinghouse Air Brake Company The Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation ( WABCO )
624-692: The Haulpak truck range, were re-branded by Dresser and continued to trade. In 1988 Dresser entered into a joint-venture with Komatsu Ltd and the truck range continued to be manufactured. The company has two 21st century successors, which are independent of each other. One, which continues to design and manufacture railway air brakes in Wilmerding , Pennsylvania, merged with locomotive manufacturer MotivePower to form Wabtec . The other, now known as WABCO Holdings , designs and manufactures control systems for commercial road vehicles, including air brakes, and
663-569: The Pennsylvania Railroad and its mainly blue-collar inhabitants. In the 1890s, the Air Brake Company employed 3,000 citizens from the surrounding Pittsburgh area, but the bulk of its workforce consisted of the firm's employees lived in the vicinity of Wilmerding. Wilmerding developed rapidly around this new and growing company, and the town soon became known for this industry. A little under one third of its population
702-436: The air brake consisted of an air pump, a main reservoir ( pressure vessel ), and an engineer's valve on the locomotive, and of a train pipe and brake cylinder on each car. One problem with this first form of the air brake was that braking was applied to the first cars in a train much sooner than to the rear cars, resulting in shocks and damages when the rear cars bunted against the cars ahead of them. The main objection, however,
741-550: The class which they belonged to, with their class being determined by the amount of money they made per month. Their contribution ranged from fifty cents to $ 1.50, which in turn (in case of disability) would pay out benefits for thirty-nine consecutive weeks. According to Wilmerding News during this time, about 76% of WA&B's employees held a plan membership with the company. The Westinghouse Air Brake company continued producing products in Wilmerding, with various managers over
780-557: The company instituted new policies for its employees. For example, in 1869, it was one of the first companies to institute a 9-hour work day and a 55-hour work week, at a time when typical working days spanned between 10 and 12 hours (and sometimes more), and where a 60-hour work week was only considered moderate. WA&B also got the reputation for being the first industry in America to adopt half holidays on Saturday afternoons. Various benefit options were also instituted in order to improve
819-452: The local Y.M.C.A, to obtain better workers. Additionally, WA&B catered to its workers who lost their ability to work, by providing an early form of a disability insurance plan. To insure a certain income to employees who might have been unfit for work because of illness or injury, an ordered sum would be paid to the beneficiary. Any employee under 50 was eligible for membership after a physical examination. The members contributed according to
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#1732775391203858-479: 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
897-512: The mid-twentieth century. The Westinghouse Air Brake Company was established by George Westinghouse in 1869. In 1889, the Air Brake plant was moved to Wilmerding, Pennsylvania , a small farming town located 14 miles (23 km) outside of Pittsburgh. At the time, was only inhabited by about 5,000 people. Socialism was strong in Wilmerding, and it was thought to be “The Ideal Town” for the company because of its location immediately adjacent to
936-562: The non-busy season, half routinely found themselves unemployed. This was not surprising, given that Wilmerding was a one-industry town, and thus unprofitable periods translated directly into a lower standard of living in the area. In the early 1900s, the Westinghouse Company built houses on a tract of land that it had purchased. In turn, it then sold those homes to its workers at an economical price. The company also offered educational and cultural activities, usually run through
975-599: 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. 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
1014-624: The purpose of measuring operating conditions. After developing the RailBAM (Bearing Acoustic Monitor) and WCM (Wheel Condition Monitoring) systems, Track IQ formed a partnership with Siemens to install the systems in the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. In October 2015, Track IQ was acquired by Wabtec . Track IQ, is installing wheel bearing and tread defect detection systems at 20 sites on key railway routes across India. In 2017, Track IQ acquired Imaging Technologies, which enabled
1053-429: The supplier to boost its capabilities to accurately measure wheel profile, brake and brake shoe condition FleetOne is a multi-sensor trending database product that extends the capability of the wayside monitoring hardware interface. The database integrates a range of wayside monitoring equipment data into a single system and facilitates vehicle monitoring and data mining via key vehicle metrics, which are delivered through
1092-708: The time of purchase Bearward had an annual sales of US$ 70 million. Wabtec Rail Limited is a railway engineering company based in at the Doncaster Works in Doncaster , England. Services include the overhaul and repair of railway rolling stock and components. Wabtec Rail occupies part of the former British Rail Engineering Limited 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
1131-403: The triple valve so as to close the inlet to the brake cylinder and open the inlet to the auxiliary reservoir from the train pipe, thus allowing the equilibrium of the two pressures to be reached. Although the plain automatic air brake was a great improvement over the straight air brake, in an emergency the system still applied the brakes to the last cars in a train later than to the first cars in
1170-399: The working and living conditions of the firm's employees. The Air Brake plant prospered, and the surrounding community thrived alongside it. By 1905, over two million freight, passenger, mail, baggage, and express cars and 89,000 locomotives were equipped with Westinghouse Air Brakes. However, business was seasonally variable, and there were dips as well. Wilmerding men complained that, during
1209-402: The world’s first battery-electric freight locomotive. It was the result of a joint venture with Carnegie Mellon University , and is part of an initiative by the two organizations to develop zero-emissions technology. Using a traditional locomotive body, the usual diesel engine has been replaced by a large bank of batteries, which drive the traction motors of the locomotive. Regenerative braking
Wabtec - Misplaced Pages Continue
1248-748: The years. However, with the shedding of Pittsburgh's industrial past, the company had become proportionally less important. In 1930 Westinghouse Automotive Air Brake Company merged with Bendix Corporation to form the Bendix-Westinghouse Automotive Air Brake Company. Between 1967 and 1983 Wabco competed, initially successfully, for market share in the heavy equipment marketplace. In 1984 its full range, including motor graders , off-highway trucks , dump trucks and motor scrapers , plus its manufacturing facilities, were sold to Dresser Industries . The only performing segment of its construction and mining division,
1287-530: 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. After having manufactured equipment in Pittsburgh for a number of years, he began to construct facilities and plants east of the city where homes for his employees were built. In 1889, the air brake manufacturing facility
1326-584: Was announced that Wabtec acquired L&M Radiator, a heat exchanger manufacturer in Hibbing, Minnesota. Wabtec bought Brush Traction of Loughborough , an English locomotive builder and maintainer, for US$ 31 million on 25 February 2011. In November 2011, Wabtec acquired Bearward Engineering, an industrial radiator manufacturer employing some 300 people based in Northampton , England. Bearward Engineering mainly makes cooling systems for power generators. At
1365-470: 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 -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
1404-403: Was moved to Wilmerding, Pennsylvania , and the company's general office building was built there in 1890. In 1921 the company began manufacturing a modified air brake system for installation in trucks and heavy vehicles. In 1953 WABCO entered the heavy equipment marketplace, buying the assets of leading equipment designer R.G LeTourneau. An entity known as "LeTourneau-Westinghouse" sold
1443-414: Was reported that General Electric (GE), undergoing a strategic review, was in talks to sell its century-old locomotive business, GE Transportation , 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
1482-500: Was somehow related, and more often than not one would end up raising their children in the same home that they were raised in. Local business prospered as well. Many of the passengers that were departing from or coming into Wilmerding stopped to shop at these stores along the narrow sidewalk before heading home. Working conditions at the Westinghouse Air Brake Company (WA&B) were more than adequate, and
1521-450: Was that it was not an automatic brake, i.e. even a minor mishap like a broken coupling left the entire train without any brake power at all. In 1872, George Westinghouse invented the automatic air brake by inventing the triple valve and by equipping each car with its own air cylinder. Air pressure is maintained in the auxiliary reservoirs and in the train pipe at all times when the brakes are not applied. An equilibrium of air pressure
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