International Railway Systems SA (“IRS”) is a Luxembourg based, European leader in the railcar industry. IRS was founded in 2001 by Cristian Burci, whom to this day acts as President of the company. The first operation to be owned by IRS was Romanian freight transport provider Servtrans. In 2002 IRS also acquired control of Meva, a railcar manufacturing facility in Turnu Severin, Romania. Two years later saw the acquisition of Romvag, a Caracal (Romania) based railcar manufacturing facility. Not until 2006 however became IRS a European leader with the purchase of the European assets of Trinity Industries, amongst which the Arad based Astra Vagoane railcar manufacturing facility and MSV Metal, a leading producer of forgings for the railcar and automotive industry, based in Studénka, Czech Republic. The three factories produce the largest number of railcars and bogies in the European market. Together with its rail transport company, the largest private general freight transport provider in Romania, IRS seeks to expand its activities along the entire railcar value chain.

Today, IRS employs almost six thousand direct workers, who are responsible for the production of a wide portfolio of railcar types for the majority of the leading European rail companies. IRS has the following strengths in the European market:

· IRS is the leading freight railcar manufacturer in Europe, with particular strengths in tank wagons, covered hoppers, box wagons, container wagons and steel carrier wagons.

· IRS can leverage on low cost operations and improved efficiency by channeling each standard product to the most effective manufacturing production line.

· IRS can realise economies of scale and synergies through centralised Quality, Procurement, Engineering and Sales.

· IRS can produce the widest range of railcars in the industry, which allows taking advantage of changing industry trends and developing market opportunities.

· IRS has certifications of the top ranking operators in Europe.

· IRS enjoys long-standing and strategic relationships with many of its clients, including the majority of the European railroads.

Philosophy & Strategy 

For more than 100 years IRS companies are producing freight cars for the various needs of our railway customers. With this longstanding expertise and the skills of our employees we truly ‘embrace freight’, whether it is oil, gas, coal, cement, timber, steel or containers. IRS companies have built more than 250,000 railcars since inception and the group has proudly evolved to the leading railcar manufacturer in Europe.

IRS is the European leader of Railcar manufacturing with the three railcar factories; Astra Vagoane, Meva S.A. and Romvag S.A. and a leading producer of forgings for the railcar and automotive industry MSV Metal Studenka. The three factories produce the largest number of railcars and bogies in the European market. Together with its rail transport company, the largest private general freight transport provider in Romania, IRS seeks to expand its activities along the entire railcar value chain.

With around 7,500 dedicated employees our targets for the years to come are ambitious as we are further planning to increase our yearly production capacity to more than 5,000 railcars. Enhanced by a solid investment programme and a further optimization of our capacities we shall be able to meet the increased demands for railcars of our customers.

Following the introduction of interoperability, privatization initiatives, more competition in the rail freight markets, and the growth of the Eastern European and Asian economies we foresee a long-term growth in the railcar market. A further boost comes from the high oil prices resulting in a strong support to shift cargo from road to rail.

A continued focus on production, quality and timely delivery are the main challenges ahead of IRS. To that extent all IRS employees do their utmost to satisfy the railcar production needs of our customers. Be assured that we will continue to strengthen our services, improve the integration of our factories, increase quality management, improve timely delivery and expand on the available railcar designs for the market needs going forward.