Alstom on the right track, says CEO

French multinational Alstom is well on course in the “railway traffic evolution” stakes, with sustained growth in the sector affirming the group is on the right track with its 2020 strategy, says Alstom chairperson and CEO Henri Poupart-Lafarge.

Addressing media at a press conference on the sidelines of railway trade show InnoTrans, in Berlin, Germany, on Tuesday, he explained that the company was seeing significant growth in all geographical regions.

“Growth is everywhere,” he affirmed.

Steady yearly global railway market growth of 3.2% is expected to continue until 2021, to reach a global market value of some €122-billion – 60% of which comprises services, signalling and infrastructure.

Alstom is targeting the number one or number two position in each of the geographical markets it operates in.

“Our [new] strategy responds to customer needs while differentiating us from our competitors,” Poupart-Lafarge noted.

Currently, Alstom boasts a 13% market share in the Americas, claiming the number two spot in the region, while the group ranks number three in Europe with a 10% market share.

In the Middle East and Africa and Asia Pacific, Alstom holds the number two spot, with market shares of 11% and 9% respectively.

While Alstom offers a complete range of solutions, it is working to ensure systems, signalling and services make up 60% of all sales by 2020, compared with 54% recorded in 2015/16.

Further, the group’s research and development (R&D) strategy to deliver “value creation through innovation”, focusing on differentiation and competitiveness, is expected to result in 30% of all orders being for newly developed products by 2020.

Recent R&D outputs include the HealthHub predictive maintenance tool, the zero-emission Coradia iLint train, the Avelia high-speed range and the Attractis tramway system, besides others.

Natasha Odendaal is a guest of Alstom at InnoTrans.