The merger of Rail-Mil Group and Kombud Automation Plants into a new holding company

We are proud to announce the merger of Rail-Mil Group Sp. z o.o. with Kombud Automation Plants S.A.

The purpose of the transaction is to intensify research and development activities and to increase the potential of the companies in the group on the broadly understood railway market and related sectors. The agreement has been approved by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, in accordance with the regulations.

The Merger of Kombud Automation Plants and Rail-Mil Group into a New Holding

Two leading Polish companies operating in the railway market: Kombud Automation Plants and Rail-Mil Group have announced their planned merger. The value of the railway traffic management market in Poland is estimated at approximately PLN 3 billion annually. The purpose of the transaction is to intensify research and development activities and to increase the potential of the companies in the group on the broadly understood railway market and related sectors. The agreement has been approved by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, in accordance with the regulations.

Merger

The result of the transaction will be the merger of Kombud Automation Plants and the companies forming the Rail-Mil Group. The holding will remain in the hands of the current owners of both groups.

– The merger is the result of many years of close cooperation and commitment from both companies to build modern and safe railway transport – says Anna Szczygielska, board member at Kombud Automation Plants. – The next stage of development for both companies will increase technological and capital potential. At the same time, it will enable development in new areas, both through a joint product offering in the ETCS market, export activities, and possible acquisitions – adds Anna Szczygielska.

– The challenges of the past two years: the pandemic and the war in Ukraine have shown the importance of national competencies in critical infrastructure. The transaction will strengthen our potential and the offer of companies in the group in both of these areas. Thanks to the merger, all control systems will primarily rely on components manufactured within the Group, which will reduce dependence on imported components – declares Sławomir Jasiński, vice president of Rail-Mil Group.

The merger at the holding level will increase opportunities and distribute risks in complementary areas of activity – from technology development, through certifications, sales, and implementations to service in the broadly understood railway market and related markets in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe.

In the product area, the group will have the widest portfolio of its own control systems among domestic manufacturers. The combined potential of both companies will exceed 500 people – including more than 300 engineers. The revenues of the companies in the Group for 2021 exceeded 500 million PLN.

Kombud Automation Plants S.A.

Kombud Automation Plants S.A. is one of the leaders in the domestic market for railway traffic control systems. Over 30 years of operation, Kombud has implemented nearly 150 computer-based station systems and over 1800 traffic safety systems at railway crossings. Kombud’s computer systems manage traffic on the Central Railway Mainline (CMK), at the stations of the Warsaw railway junction, at the Broad Gauge Steel Line, at the Bogdanka mine, at the Kozienice Power Plant’s siding, as well as on the longest – 165 km section of the line managed from a single Local Control Center. The company conducts a wide research and development program, which has allowed the creation of a full portfolio of railway traffic control systems.

Rail-Mil Group

Rail-Mil Group is a Polish company operating in the field of electronics and industrial automation. Over a hundred engineers create, patent, and implement modern solutions designed for the metro and railway, based on European ERTMS and ETCS-L1 standards. It is the manufacturer of the rmCBTC® system, which enables autonomous train movement and, among others, eurobalises, programmers, LEU encoders, and other electronic components. The systems provided by Rail-Mil allow traffic control on both lines of the Warsaw Metro.