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MOTORINDIA
l
April 2012
67
The consistent pursuit of the
Knorr-Bremse philosophy of de-
velopment and on-site production
of product families for its custom-
ers, including in the emergent BRIC
States, played a decisive role in the
group’s success. It also means that
a large share of the workforce is lo-
cated in low-wage countries, across
all departments.
The Group workforce grew by
11.1 per cent for the reporting year
to 20,050 employees from 18,053
component zone
Due to the introduction of the Euro
V emission standards, a drop in
commercial vehicle production is
anticipated. In Asia the Group is
expecting growth in the Rail Ve-
hicle division based primarily on
strength from India. Commercial
vehicle production will likely re-
main stable. Based on the trends
on the regional markets and in-
coming orders from 2011, Knorr-
Bremse is forecasting slightly
improved earnings at the group
level for 2012.
ate 2 per cent.
On the heels of the large-scale
projects in China in recent years,
Knorr-Bremse strengthened its mar-
ket position in Asia by expanding
its business with air-conditioning
systems, as well as orders to equip
local public transit trains and the ex-
pansion of its service network. The
Asian Commercial Vehicle division
also saw positive development, rais-
ing revenues by 14 per cent.
Outlook for 2012
The Group is forecasting moder-
ate growth for 2012. In Europe the
Group is anticipating unchanged
market volume year-on-year for rail
vehicles for passenger, freight and
commercial hauling. A slight drop is
expected on the European commer-
cial vehicle market. In North Amer-
ica the Group is counting on further
moderate recovery of the rail-based
freight market and growth in com-
mercial vehicle production. Mixed
trends are anticipated for South
America. The market for rail freight
vehicles seems poised to improve
slightly, while a drop in passenger
rail traffic is expected.
w
the previous year. The growth re-
flected the strong business results,
especially in North America and
Asia, as well as the first-time con-
solidation of new businesses. At the
close of 2011, 52 per cent of em-
ployees across the group were em-
ployed in Europe, a further 23 per
cent in America and another 25 per
cent in Asia/Australia. The year-end
head count showed 3,848 employ-
ees at Knorr-Bremse’s five German
facilities in Munich, Aldersbach,
Berlin, Dresden and Schwieberdin-
gen, 19 per cent of the overall group
workforce (PY: 3,431). An addition-
al 3,184 employees, or 16 per cent
of the total group work-
force, were engaged in
R&D and project plan-
ning during 2011.
Sales for the subsidiar-
ies in the Asia-Pacific
region grew slightly in
2011 by four per cent to
1.08 billion EUR. The
Rail Vehicle division
solidified its strong sales
growth from recent years,
not only maintaining those high lev-
els but improving them by a moder-