Wabtec Corporation (has completed the acquisition of Winco Equipamentos Ferroviários Ltda., to expand its presence in Brazil. Wabtec expects the transaction to be accretive in the first year. Based in Sao Paolo and with annual sales of about $15 million, Winco is an established marketing and sales company with capabilities including value-added engineering and assembly, service, technical support and logistics. The company has an extensive network of customer relationships in the freight rail and passenger transit markets throughout Brazil.
“Winco complements our existing presence in Brazil and provides a framework for further growth in this important market,” said Albert J. Neupaver, Wabtec’s president and chief executive officer. “Combined with our recent acquisition of Mors Smitt, a European-based manufacturer of electronic components for rail and industrial markets, this further demonstrates our ongoing commitment to expand Wabtec’s global presence.”
From 2006-2011, Wabtec’s sales outside of the U.S. grew from $370 million to $916 million, for a compounded annual growth rate of 20 percent. As the largest freight rail market in South America and the sixth-largest in the world, Brazil has contributed to that growth. In recent years, Wabtec has expanded its capabilities there by opening a service center, acquiring a manufacturer of friction products, and winning a contract to design and install Communications-Based Train Control for MRS Logistica, one of the largest railroads in the country. As a result, Wabtec’s sales in Brazil have increased from less than $5 million in 2009 to more than $70 million in 2011, with double-digit growth expected this year.