 | |
| Industry | Railway rolling stock |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1985 |
| Headquarters | , France |
Key people | Pascal Varin (CEO) |
| Parent | Titagarh Wagons |
| Website | www.a-f-r.fr |
Arbel Fauvet Rail (AFR) is a railway rolling stock manufacturer based in Douai, France. In 2010 the company was acquired by Titagarh Wagons and renamed AFR Titagarh.
The company's history dates to 1856 when Lucien Arbel in association with the Deflaissieux brothers began business in Rive-de-Gier in the Loire area of France; in 1869 he founded the Forges de Couzon on the river Couzon in Rive-de-Gier. The factory made a variety of different metal parts including wheels for railway vehicles. In 1890 Lucien Arbel's son Pierre travelled to northern and eastern France to study the industrial development there, and as a consequence 5 hectares land was bought from the city of Douai in northern France for industrial development. In 1894 the Forges de Douai was founded as public company (Société anonyme) with Pierre and Lucien Arbel as directors. [1]
In 1896 the company began stamping sheet metal, and in 1900 the plant expanded to include a Martin process hearth (7 tonnes capacity), and facilities to forge wheels; the plant had three activities: forging, machining, and stamping. The company continued to expand in the 1900s; with orders from the Compagnie du Midi for high capacity wagons, and a large order from the Compagnie du Nord the business acquired 3 more hectares of land in Douai to build a second plant in 1908 specialising in railway vehicles. Parts for artillery pieces, and other military equipment began to be produced around this time in Douai. In 1910 a third plant was opened which included an open hearth furnace, a steel plate mill and other equipment for the working of steel. [1]
By 1914 the plants in Douai covered over 86,000 m2 and the Société Arbel was employing 2500 workers. The factory was occupied by German troops during the First World War from October 1914; during the latter part of the war the occupation became destructive with assets removed, and later destroyed in situ. By the recapture of the plant in 1918 essentially all the factory's equipment had been looted, and much of the buildings also removed or destroyed. [1]
Rebuilding of the plant took place through the 1920s; the primary steel production of open hearth furnaces and mills were not rebuilt, the new equipment is focussed on wagon production and metal stamping. Re construction was complete by 1922. [1]
In 1929 the plants in Couzon were sold to the Compagnie générale du duralumin et du cuivre (Cégédur) and the company was renamed Établissements Arbel in 1936. [2]
During the Second World War the factory was extensively damaged in 1940 and 1944. After rebuilding, the factory in Douai continued the tradition of wagon construction and metal forming. After 1970 the plant became a subsidiary of Arbel Industrie. Recession in the 1980s caused restructuring and in 1985 the operations were merged with Fauvet Girel to form Arbel Fauvet Rail. [2]
 | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2011) |
In 1907 the Établissements Girel works was founded in Paris, and in 1914 Edouard Fauvet established a factory in La Courneuve (Paris). [3]
In 1923 Girel transferred its factory from Paris to Saint-Laurent-Blangy. After the death of his father Edouard Fauvet in 1931, Maurice-Fauvet took over the control of the company. In 1935 he refocused the business to specialise in the construction of tank wagons and special wagons. At its peak the Fauvet-Girel company employed around 1000 workers. The company merged with Arbel in 1985, a result of which was restructuring which saw the closure of the Saint-Laurent-Blangy factory in 1990. [4]
Arbel Fauvet Rail was formed in 1985 by the merger of Fauvet Girel and the Douai wagon plant subsidiary of Arbel Industrie. [2]
In June 2007 the company was taken over by IGF Industries and renamed IGF Industries - Arbel Fauvet Rail. [5]
The company went into receivership in February 2009 and in 2010 the company was acquired by Titagarah Wagons Limited (India) for €2 million, with a proposed investment of €13 million. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
Main production is located on industrial site of 25 hectares, including 52,000 m2 covered facilities.[ citation needed ]
The company manufactures freight rolling stock including tank, hopper and car carrier wagons; [11] in 2010 it had a production capacity of ~5000 wagons per year. [12]
The company's production included the Y8000 and Y8400 type shunters built for the SNCF during the 1980s and early 1990s, [13] as well as FIA, FSA, FTA, IKA, IFA intermodal ISO Container wagons, [14] and JGA hoppers; built for UK railways in the 1990s. [15] The company also supplied many intermodal wagons to the SNCF and Intercontainer. [16]
DB Cargo UK, is a British rail freight company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Doncaster, England.
Freightliner Group is a rail freight and logistics company headquartered in the United Kingdom.
The Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW), formerly Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW), is a production unit of Indian Railways situated in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. DLW was renamed BLW in 2020.
Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits is a Belgian-founded French company known for providing and operating luxury trains with sleepers and dining cars during the late 19th and the 20th centuries, most notably the Orient Express. Founded by Georges Nagelmackers in 1872, CIWL developed an international network of trains beginning in Europe, and later expanding to Asia and Africa. The trains provided luxury and comfort at a time when travelling was still rough and dangerous. The Armistice with Germany was signed in a CIWL train carriage, the Compiègne Wagon, on November 11, 1918.
The Chemins de fer du Nord, often referred to simply as the Nord company, was a rail transport company founded in September 1845 in Paris. It was owned by, among others, de Rothschild Frères of France, N M Rothschild & Sons of London, Charles Laffitte and Edward Blount, and Baron Jean–Henri Hottinguer. Baron James de Rothschild served as the company's president from its inception until his death in 1868.
Rive-de-Gier is a commune in the Loire department in central France.
The SNCF Class Y 8000 is a class of diesel shunter built between 1977 and 1990.
La Brugeoise et Nivelles, later BN Constructions Ferroviaires et Métalliques, was a Belgian manufacturer of railway locomotives and other rolling stock; it was formed by a merger of two companies: La Brugeoise et Nicaise et Delcuve and Les Ateliers Métallurgiques de Nivelles.
Burn Standard Company Limited (BSCL) is a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) of the Government of India. Headquartered in Howrah, India, BSCL is engaged mainly in railway wagon manufacturing under the Ministry of Railways. On 4 April 2018, Cabinet approves closure of loss making Burn Standard Company Limited. The company was formed with the merger of two companies – Burn & Company and Indian Standard Wagon, and was nationalised in 1975. In fiscal 2006, the company reported aggregated revenues of ₹1,373 million (US$16 million). Subsequently, the company with its two engineering units at Howrah and Burnpur came under the administrative control of Ministry of Railways in September 2010. The refractory unit at Salem, Tamil Nadu, was transferred to Steel Authority of India Limited.
The Société Franco-Belge was a Franco-Belgian engineering firm that specialised in the construction of railway vehicles and their components and accessories. The company originated in 1859 as the Belgian firm Compagnie Belge pour la Construction de Machines et de Matériels de Chemins de Fer, founded by Charles Evrard. The company expanded its share capital in 1881 forming a new firm Société Anonyme Franco-Belge pour la Construction de Machines et de Matériel de Chemins de Fer and constructed a factory in Raismes (Valenciennes) in the Département Nord in France.
Captrain France, formerly VFLI, is a French freight rail company. It is a subsidiary of SNCF's Rail Logistics Europe. The company was formed in 1998 as a low cost short line and industrial railway operator.
Waggonfabrik Talbot was a rolling stock manufacturer founded in Aachen, Germany, in 1838. The company was an early pioneer of self discharging freight wagons, and in the latter part of the twentieth century a major supplier to the Dutch State Railways.
Braithwaite & Co. Limited is an Indian public sector undertaking which is engaged in the manufacture of railway wagons, cranes and other engineering services. It is wholly owned by the Government of India and under the administrative control of the Ministry of Railways. Its headquarters are located at Kolkata, West Bengal.
Rail Wheel Plant, Bela is an independent production unit of Indian Railways situated in the Bela gram panchayat of Dariapur Block, Parsa in Saran district of Bihar. It was inaugurated in 2008 by former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, and was built at a cost of ₹1,450 crore (US$170 million). The station is spread over an area of 165 acres (0.67 km2), and employs approximately 956 persons appointed by the Indian Railways, along with 300 contractual staff members.
The Alpine rolling highway is a combined transport service, in the form of a rolling highway on special wagons traveling a distance of 175 km between France and Italy by the Mont Cenis Tunnel.
Lucien Arbel was a French draftsman who became a machinist and then an engineer. He started his own metalworking business and became a major industrialist. He was also a deputy and then a senator of France. His business was passed down to his sons and later evolved into Arbel Fauvet Rail.
The Electric Locomotive Factory, Madhepura is a joint venture of Alstom SA of France with Indian Railways for the production of 800 high-power locomotives over a period of 11 years designed to run on Indian tracks at 120 km/h (75 mph). The manufacturing has started on 11 October 2017.
Titagarh Rail Systems Limited, formerly known as Titagarh Wagons Limited, is an Indian rolling stock manufacturer in the private sector. Established in 1984 as a rolling stock foundry unit, the company's headquarters are situated in Kolkata, West Bengal. Titagarh is publicly traded on both the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE).
IGF Industries took over the activities of Arbel Fauvet Rail in June 2007, modifying the name to IGF Industries - Arbel Fauvet Rail
