Insights

Sustainability as a business model – pioneer Vossloh AGVossloh is a globally active and listed rail technology company headquartered in Werdohl, which today focuses on rail infrastructure in its core business. In the financial year 2021, the company’s sales could be fully attributed to the EU taxonomy regulation, thus underpinning the sustainability of Vossloh’s business model.The company has a long tradition: in 1888, the blacksmith Eduard Vossloh founded the company of the same name in Werdohl. As early as 1883, Vossloh was working on behalf of the Royal Prussian Railway,Continue Reading

Trade fairs offer companies an ideal setting to present themselves and their products to a large audience and are thus among the most effective marketing tools in B2B communication. To generate leads, it is not enough to act freely according to the motto “see and be seen”. The trade fair appearance must be subject to clear goals. Work on achieving these goals begins months before the actual trade fair – by means of pre-show marketing. Meaning of pre-show marketingAt trade fairs, you compete with many other companies for the attention ofContinue Reading

How NFTs could influence the rail market Non-fungible tokens have been the talk of the town for a long time: German Youtuber Fynn Kliemann, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and even the trading house Christie’s held auctions with non-fungible tokens (NFTs). So far, their use is mainly a topic in the art market, but NFTs have potential in other areas as well: the NFT blockchain is not limited to its use as a cryptocurrency platform alone. For all the hype, however, there is also justified criticism – the carbon footprint ofContinue Reading

The ASTRAN team has created an online framework for a lively exchange of information for industry experts. Insights from different perspectives and independent authors create a colorful picture of opinions on the special role of rail-based transport in reducing climate change. In-depth analysis, clear and robust market information helps to keep track in an increasingly complex dynamic information jungle. Air pollution and global warming are among the most pressing challenges facing humanity. One approach to solving the pressing problems of climate change is to increase the use of rail transport.Continue Reading

THE DIGITAL AUTOMATIC COUPLER (DAC) IS A FUNDAMENTAL BUILDING BLOCK AND MILESTONE FOR THE GROWTH OF RAIL FREIGHT TRANSPORT THROUGHOUT EUROPE!In the history of freight cars, screw couplings have been used exclusively ever since. In this process, a shackle weighing approx. 20 kg has to be placed on the hooks of two wagons so that the two wagons can then be connected to each other by turning a screw thread of the couplings. The air lines for brakes as well as power and data bus lines are then coupled byContinue Reading

3D printing has been in professional use in industry for many years and enables a wide variety of products. Since the first commercially available 3D printer in 1988, which was based on the laser sintering process, a lot has changed to today’s methods and processes. The generic term for all this is the so-called “additive processes”, in which components are built up layer by layer.Deutsche Bahn and all its suppliers also produce spare parts from metal and plastic using 3D printing. This can drastically shorten delivery times in particular. “InContinue Reading

Snapshot of the railway market Dossier Germany 2020 The German rail market is existential both for the German economy and for achieving climate targets. This is reflected in the measures, initiatives and legislation that the German government has adopted this year to support the rail sector. But the players themselves are also actively shaping the future of the industry. This dossier provides you with a snapshot of the German rail market. In a review, we summarize the events of the past year and then look at the efforts made byContinue Reading

  As a result of the Covid‐19 lockdown and the associated increased adoption of the working from home model, many companies have had to restructure their IT, leading to changes in working methods and processes and potentially creating new vulnerabilities in IT security. In addition, working from home workplaces open up new gateways for hackers. Thus, hacker attacks increased substantially in the course of the pandemic. However, not only during the pandemic, but also before, companies and public institutions became victims of hacker attacks, which led to the “lockdown” ofContinue Reading

Successful digitization of the rail market requires consistent standardization In the course of ever faster technological and social changes, companies have to assess and align their strategic position constantly. It is therefore vital for the management to define processes which enable them to systematically cope with situations of uncertainty. Megatrends and technological drivers must become focal points of every decision-maker, also in the rail markets. For the second time, ASTRAN surveyed experts and decision-makers from the global rail markets on their assessment of current megatrends in rail transport. This year,Continue Reading