The JOSEF MEYER Rail (JMR) Group specialises in the maintenance and repair of freight wagons and has locations in Switzerland and abroad. In an interview with the VAP, Dr Dominik Suter, owner and Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Ulrich Walt, Group CEO since September 2024, talk about the success factors of an industrial sector player, the asymmetry of innovations and the future of Swiss rail freight transport.
VAP: Mr Suter, how did the change in leadership come about and what do you expect from Ulrich Walt?
Dominik Suter: Vinzenz Bindschädler, our previous Managing Director, has decided to leave JMR at the end of September 2024. In Ulrich Walt, a long-standing industry expert is taking over the management of our Group. Together, we want to realise our vision of sustainably increasing the productivity of our railway customers and expand our group of companies in an international context.
VAP: You express your brand promise with the attributes ‘reliable’, ‘committed’ and ‘innovative’. Mr Walt, how do you intend to strengthen these attributes in the future? Where will you break new ground?
Ulrich Walt: I find these taglines helpful. Although they are somewhat generic, they make it clear what is important to our customers. The attribute ‘reliable’ in particular is crucial in the maintenance business because it has a lot to do with safety. With the attribute ‘committed’, we want to consolidate our reputation as one of the best workshops in Europe. For example, we are constantly shortening lead times and sending out mobile maintenance teams in Switzerland for minor repairs.
I will maintain our strategic course. As we are integrated into industrial processes, we cannot revolutionise our business model overnight. However, I would like to set new priorities. For example, we will focus even more strongly on our core competences of maintenance and ECM offerings. Internally, we are focussing more on management and responsibility. And finally, we also want to further optimise our systems and processes.
The term ‘innovative’ is generally equated with digitalisation. This is also the subject of lively discussion in rail freight transport, particularly in connection with digital automatic coupling (DAK). What is your opinion on this?
Dominik Suter: The promotion of rail transport in Europe requires not only the maintenance of the rail infrastructure and the DAK in the short term, but also innovations in rolling stock in the medium term. For example, years ago we developed low-noise and low-wear freight wagon bogies for significantly higher speeds together with industry partners. In a joint venture with PROSE, this has resulted in the more cost-effective ‘LEILA Light’ bogie based on a technology that is ready for approval. ‘LEILA Light’ offers impressive advantages in terms of noise, wear and tear on the rail infrastructure and speed. However, as long as the advantages in terms of noise, wear and tear on the rail infrastructure and speed do not reach the investor, there will be no investment in modern rolling stock.
Ulrich Walt: The situation is similar with DAK as the most frequently cited driver of digitalisation. When it comes to innovations for rail transport, the question always arises as to whether they should take place on the carriage or on the infrastructure. DAK is revolutionising the carriage. However, the benefits of this innovation and the costs of implementing it are distributed asymmetrically, i.e. they are incurred in different places. In such a case, it will be difficult to achieve a breakthrough. I consider this asymmetry to be the biggest sticking point of the DAK. The regulator needs to provide an impetus here. The DAK is well advanced in the political process, which is why it will prevail sooner or later.
JMR’s roots go back to the year 1888. Since then, your company has established itself as a reliable industry player. What is the secret of your success?
Dominik Suter: The secret of our success is our employees, who are ‘on fire’ for rail freight transport. Some employees have been with us for decades, sometimes even their entire professional lives. The lean structures with short decision-making channels and our customer-orientation also contribute to our success.
Ulrich Walt: I can only agree with that. We are small and agile, which is why we consistently focus on our customers. I would like to add another success factor: JMR has an engineering background. So we can do more than just maintenance, we can even rebuild entire sub-assemblies or bogies if required. Our engineering expertise keeps us in pole position.
Liability in rail freight transport is currently taking centre stage. Recommendations have also been made for the further development of the ECM Regulation. What do you think about this?
Ulrich Walt: In connection with the accident in the Gotthard Base Tunnel, the Joint Network Secretariat of the European Union Agency for Railways ERA and the Swiss Safety Investigation Board STSB issued recommendations. These have already been incorporated into our maintenance measures and our ECM services. However, I see a certain discrepancy in regulatory developments. On the one hand, the federal government wants to promote rail freight transport, for example with the total revision of the Freight Transport Act. At the same time, the competitiveness of rail freight transport would be reduced by increasing the liability obligations of the owners. Such distortions penalise private-sector market players such as JMR because they impose additional costs on us.
What strengths do you attribute to our association?
Ulrich Walt: The VAP is excellently networked with other logistics associations and players in the rail industry. It has extensive expertise that it can use to support its members. It can also be leveraged for political initiatives. I believe that the VAP has become impressively professionalised over the last three decades and is now an important voice for the rail freight industry.
What would you like to see for the VAP?
Ulrich Walt: Two things are important to me for the coming months and years. Firstly, I hope for a successful handover of operational management from Dr Frank Furrer to Dr Simon Wey. Fortunately, Mr Furrer will remain with the VAP, as he was elected to the Board of Directors at the last Annual General Meeting. This will enable the transfer of his enormous wealth of knowledge and experience and ensure continuity. Simon Wey is an experienced association man and an outstanding economist. This combination should enable him to continue the professionalisation of the association. Secondly, I wish the newly founded VAP subsidiary ‘Cargo Rail Consulting AG’ a successful start. Over the last few years, the demand for consultancy services in this area has become increasingly apparent. This subsidiary will certainly further strengthen the association.
Who would you recommend working with the VAP?
Dominik Suter: All shippers and wagon keepers and, in general, anyone who is interested in rail freight transport or is committed to it in Switzerland or Europe. The shippers benefit directly, the wagon hire companies indirectly from a fruitful exchange and up-to-date information. As a member, you are at the source of rail freight transport expertise, so to speak.
How do you see the future of rail freight transport in Switzerland?
Ulrich Walt: I have noticed two opposing trends. On the one hand, the ongoing de-industrialisation of Switzerland means that there are fewer and fewer ‘rail-friendly’ goods that can be transported by rail. On the other hand, the sustainability transformation of countless industries is putting rail at the centre of attention as a climate-friendly mode of transport and a valid alternative to road transport. It is true that rail freight transport is cumbersome because much of it is still in the hands of the state. Nevertheless, I consider the future of rail freight transport to be promising. The infrastructure, efficiency and sustainability benefits are there. Freight rail customers and legislators alike have recognised this.
Dominik Suter: Despite the climate debate and the sharp rise in the number of hours of congestion on the motorways, we are seeing a shift back from rail to road. Among other things, this is due to price increases, a lack of slots for freight transport and a lack of punctuality. There is an urgent need for action at a political level. The VAP can become a little louder here.
What has not yet been said?
Ulrich Walt: I am delighted to be working for the VAP as CEO of the JMR Group. In my new position, the work of the VAP affects me even more than it did with my previous employer. The only difference is that I look at things at JMR from an industrial perspective.
Thank you, Dr Dominik Suter and Ulrich Walt, for this stimulating interview.
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Dr Dominik Suter is the owner of the JOSEF MEYER Rail Group and Chairman of the Board of Directors. He has more than 25 years of management experience as a CEO, board member and consultant, during which he has successfully developed numerous companies, including internationally active industrial companies in Switzerland, Germany and Austria, even in difficult situations. |
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Ulrich Walt has been Managing Director of JOSEF MEYER RAIL AG in Rheinfelden since 1 September 2024. He has 20 years of experience in management positions in logistics in Switzerland and abroad. He has worked at Alloga and Holcim Switzerland, among others, and was most recently CEO of logistics and service specialist Fastlog. Ulrich Walt is also Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Executive Committee at VAP. |
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JOSEF MEYER Rail (JMR) was founded in Lucerne in 1888. In 1943, the company opened a branch in Rheinfelden, Switzerland, for the production of freight wagons and welded assemblies. With the liberalisation of the railway sector in the 1990s, the company expanded its range of activities to include the maintenance of rail vehicles. Today, the JOSEF MEYER Rail Group is a leading expert in the maintenance and modernisation of freight wagons, complex repairs to passenger carriages and locomotives as well as the production of complex welded assemblies, small series and special vehicles. |
