Alstom
Alstom ( until end of June 1998 GEC Alsthom ) is a globally active group in the energy and transport sector. The company is headquartered in Levallois- Perret near Paris ( France). CEO is Patrick Kron.
Economic Characteristics
The Group is a public company whose shares are traded on the stock exchange in Paris. The largest shareholder was until 2006 the French State. This then sold his shares, which have largely been taken over by the French group Bouygues, the resulting largest shareholder was.
The company has subsidiaries in about 100 countries worldwide. The total number of employees is around 92,000 (as of 2012). Worldwide sales in the fiscal year 2011/2012 ( April 2011-March 2012 ) 19.934 billion euros at a profit margin of 7.1%.
Group organization
After the sale of the sector energy transmission and distribution ( Transmission & Distribution ) to the French AREVA group in the spring of 2004, and the sector Power Conversion ( drive technology and industrial plant engineering) to the financial investor Barclays Private Equity in November 2005 and renamed the sector to Converteam, the company was divided into two sectors:
- Power: Development and construction of power plants, gas turbines, steam turbines, steam generation, hydropower, wind power, geothermal, solar thermal, biomass, technologies for environmental protection and facilities for the use of waste heat, as well as service of power plant systems and components.
- Transport: Mainly manufacturing of railway locomotives for long distance services ( including the TGV), the transport ( eg Coradia LINT, Coradia Continental, DB Class 423), subways and trams ( Citadis ).
Since 2010 there is again a third sector:
- Grid: On June 7, 2010, a portion ( energy transfer ) was taken of the sector energy transmission and distribution back of Areva, the energy distribution sector was taken over by the also French, Group Schneider Electric. The new Alstom sector now does not mean more transmission & distribution but is now (English for network) called Grid.
National companies
Alstom in Germany
The German Alstom Group employs about 9,000 people in the areas of Power, Transport and Grid and had 2011/2012 annual revenues of 2.6 billion. Euro.
The main industrial centers of Alstom in Germany are located in Mannheim ( German headquarters), Berlin, Bergisch Gladbach, Bexbach, Brunswick, Dresden, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Kassel, Konstanz, Leipzig, Ludwig Lust, Moenchengladbach, Munich, Neumark (Vogtland ), Nuremberg, Salzgitter, Stendal, Stuttgart, and Waibstadt. In addition, Alstom still maintains sales offices in several cities.
In Germany include the former ABB Power Generation as part of Alstom Power GmbH, the former AEG Power Engineering AG as part of Alstom Grid GmbH and the former left -Hofmann -Busch GmbH in Salzgitter as part of Alstom Transport Germany GmbH to the Group.
Alstom in Switzerland
The Swiss Alstom Group has around 6,000 employees in the areas of Power, GRID and transport, making it one of the largest industrial companies in Switzerland. The Alstom ( Switzerland ) AG achieved sales of around 4.2 billion Swiss francs ( CHF ) in the financial year 2011/12.
The Power sector, has its global headquarters in Baden and has a second site in Birr ( AG). The division is based in GRID Oberentfelden (AG ) and the Transport division is located in Neuhausen Rhine Falls (SH ), with a branch office in Lausanne ( VD).
The division of Alstom Power Switzerland 's global research and development center for gas and steam turbines, executive center for combined cycle power plants, and makes system planning for hydroelectric power plants and components for manufacturing turbines and generators. In the service, it deals with the global power plant maintenance, with emphasis on combined-cycle plants and gas turbines, with optimization and retrofitting of power plants, and the maintenance and upgrading of the Swiss nuclear power plants.
The division GRID is active in the field of power transmission and distribution.
Among the products of the Transport division is one of the Métro Lausanne, the ETCS for the Swiss Federal Railways, and the ICN and Cisalpino tilting trains.
Alstom in Italy
In 2000, Alstom acquired a 51% stake in Fiat Ferroviaria with an option to acquire the remaining 49 %. The number of Alstom's sites in Italy rose to eight, the number of employees to 3,000 and the turnover to 500 million euros. Alstom exercised the option to acquire the remaining shares in 2002 and assumed Fiat Ferroviaria completely.
Fiat Ferroviaria produced rail vehicles, including parts of the tilting technology for the German ICE.
Alstom in Poland
In 1997, Alstom acquired the Wagon factory Konstal in Chorzów, builds the trams and subway cars. In addition, Alstom bought farms, the turbines and electric motors produce ( in Warsaw, Wrocław, and Elbląg ). Alstom is also involved in projects in three large power plants ( Pątnów - Konin, Łagisza and Belchatow; overall performance of about 1800 megawatts). Today ( 2010) employs Alstom in Poland about 2200 employees.
Alstom in Spain
On 25 June 2007, Alstom bought the Spanish wind turbine manufacturer Ecotècnia and called the company Alstom Ecotècnia. In April 2010, the company got the name Alstom Wind. Alstom Wind manufactures three platforms of wind turbines. The ECO 80 platform consists of two types of systems for medium and low wind sites, which have a rotor diameter of 80 and 85.5 meters at a power output of 1.67 MW. The ECO 100 platform consists of three types of systems for strong, medium and weak sites, the rotor diameter of the individual assets amounted to 100, 110 and 122 meters. The rated power of the strong-wind turbines ECO 100 and ECO 110 wind turbine means is 3 MW, the weak wind turbine ECO 122 at 2.7 MW. In addition, the prototype of a gearless offshore wind turbine with 6 MW rated power and a rotor diameter of 150 meters was built in 2012. Series production of this turbine is as of November 2013 still.
History
The company's name is derived from the French region of Alsace (French Alsace ) and the surname of the British- American engineer Elihu Thomson ( 1853-1937 ), who founded various electrical companies in the United States, Britain and France.
Alstom in Belfort was founded in 1928 under the applicable long time notation Alsthom by the 1872 Société de Constructions Mécaniques Alsacienne ( SACM ) and the Compagnie Française Thomson - Houston. Even today one can see the largest Alstom factory.
The company has become the leading railway vehicle and power plant manufacturers in France, particularly in the field of nuclear power plants. In 1976, the CGE Compagnie Générale d' Electricité ( later Alcatel Alsthom by Alcatel renamed) the majority of shares. In 1984, Alsthom Chantiers de l' Atlantique, a shipyard in Saint Nazaire, and changed its name until 1985, under the name Alsthom Atlantique, then only Alsthom. In 1988, the CGE and GEC Alsthom and large parts of the Power Systems division of GEC to GEC-Alsthom together. In 1994, GEC Alsthom majority interest in the rail vehicle manufacturer Linke- Hofmann -Busch ( LHB ) in Salzgitter, which then operated under the name Alstom LHB GmbH and now Alstom Transport Germany means GmbH. In 1998, GEC Alsthom, AEG Power Engineering GmbH. In 1999, Alstom, the majority in the French rail vehicle manufacturer De Dietrich Ferroviaire.
In the course of the IPO by the end of June 1998, the company from GEC Alsthom was renamed Alstom. In the same year, the GEC and Alcatel Alsthom CGE affiliated renamed since 1991 the GEC-Alsthom and sold their shares gradually until 2001. Valid until early 2007 ALSTOM notation was introduced simultaneously disappeared also the name of the parent company Alcatel Alsthom from. Today the spelling Alstom is valid.
As part of the ever- progressing concentration among manufacturers of power plants, the joint venture ABB ALSTOM Power was founded in 1999, which included the power plant divisions of both companies. In 2000, Alstom then acquired all the shares of the company ABB, which had to sell them because of technical and subsequent penalties to financial difficulties at the big ABB gas turbines to avert a looming bankruptcy. Then the power plant sector, which had almost doubled with the acquisition of ABB, was re fully integrated into the Group. Alstom acquired with the power plant area, the complete ABB expertise and service of the BBC / ABB fleet in the area of steam turbines, generators and gas turbines, as well as all financial risks and contaminated sites related to technical problems of GT24/26-Gasturbinenreihe. In 2004, one in this case from thereby caused losses of 4.5 billion euros.
On October 18, 2000, the company took over Fiat Ferroviaria. For the 51- percent share of Alstom paid 147 million euros to Fiat and assumed debt of 45 million euros. On February 1, 2001, the company of Fiat Industrial Ferroviarie in Alstom Ferroviaria was. Alstom exercised this option in 2002 and assumed Fiat Ferroviaria completely.
Due to the above-described and other acquisitions, assumed by the former ABB power plants division project risks, Alstom had a high level of debt at the beginning of the new millennium. 2002 with a turnover of 21.35 billion euro, a loss of 1.35 billion euros was recorded. Reinforced with considerable technical problems with the operation of the developed nor ABB gas turbines and a ruptured cruise ship business and due to the global decline in business with power plant new plants, it was the Group in 2003 is no longer possible to operate all loans. To the short term to improve the financial situation at first was in summer 2003, originating from the former AEG industrial turbines business to Siemens AG, then sells the power transmission business to AREVA and finally summarized in the Power Conversion sector investment business to the financial investor Barclays Private Equity in the spring of 2004.
In mid-2003, the company announced plans to close its production site in the UK Washwood Heath after no new orders were foreseeable. On 22 September 2003, the Gläuberbanken agreed to a comprehensive EUR 3.2 billion rescue plan for the company. In addition to 2.4 billion euros from the French State Bank funds to contribute 800 million euros to save the company undertook. Previously the EU had agreed to the plan of the French government. This state aid kept the company from insolvency. In spring 2004, the Company announced restructuring costs significantly greater than initially planned; instead of the estimated 450 million to 500 million 650 million euros should be spent. In mid-2004, the European Commission approved the rescue plan subject to conditions. Accordingly, the company had within four years, new partner for multiple lines of business find government financing then had to run out. In return, the French state was given permission to the company to provide 2.29 billion euros available and to take up to 31.5 percent of the share capital. On 9 July 2004, the General Meeting of Shareholders agreed to this plan.
The restructuring serving bank loans were hedged back by the French State. This hedge was initially considered by the European Commission as distorting public subsidy. Such aid is prohibited under EU competition law without approval by the EU Commission. Therefore, numerous discussions between the European Commission, the French Government and Alstom about the future of the Group took place. The EU Commission has approved state aid on 7 July 2004. In return, the company Alstom had to open for industrial partnerships include the essential parts of Alstom activities. Regarding the choice of the industrial partners, the Commission made no stipulations, however, true for an introduction of government-controlled company a conditional approval by the EU Commission.
In early 2005, the European Commission threatened to sue against France before the European Court of Justice because France did not keep to the agreement. So the French rail technology market is not open and has not been converted to public markets EU regulations.
In 2006, Bouygues previously held by the French government shareholding of 21.03 percent, paused this the end of June 2007 to 25.35 percent to 30.07 percent in 2007 and holds Alstom since October. Bouygues is thus the largest shareholder. On 11 September 2007 plans were announced, according to which is to be merged with the nuclear group AREVA, with the support of French President Nicolas Sarkozy Alstom. In the presence of the President of Alstom presented on 5 February 2008 in La Rochelle with the AGV the completely redesigned high-speed train the next generation ago.
In August of 2008 because of corruption and money laundering allegations it came to house searches in Switzerland.
In June 2010, Alstom has bought back in 2004, assigned to Areva energy transfer. Thus, the new sector " Alstom Grid " emerged.
In October 2010, the company was subject before the Royal High Court with attempting a contract worth € 600 million for the supply of ten high-speed trains between the operator of the Channel Tunnel, Euro Star and Siemens to prevent by injunction. Alstom had argued that the trains from Siemens would " safety deficiencies ", but it is here only to deviations from the current safety for the tunnel, the change in the tunnel operators had already been promised. The court ruled that the public interest in speedy competition outweighs on the channel path to a delay of delivery by the case brought by Alstom monopolist process.
2012 produced the Alstom offshore wind turbine " Haliade " at Le Carnet near Saint- Nazaire, the first kilowatt-hours. With 6 MW and a rotor diameter of 150 meters, the Haliade 150 is one of the most powerful wind turbines in the world. In November 2013, the first offshore prototype of this turbine was erected in the Belgian offshore wind farm Belwind II on a jacket foundation.