TMH, Africa and South Africa’s latest entrant into the rolling stock manufacturing and service sector celebrates its 2nd anniversary milestone this month. 

The company’s 45 000 sqm facility in Boksburg, South Africa was officially inaugurated by the Gauteng Premier Honorable David Makhura on the 2nd of April 2019. 

To date TMH has grown significantly in South Africa, increasing its workforce by over 60% to 260, it has achieved globally recognized and respected certifications in the rail industry including: 

• The EN 15085-2 Certification Level CL which demonstrates TMH Africa’s competence in the control of welding quality in the production of railway vehicles and components in accordance with European standards outlined as the EN 15085 standard. 

• The ISO 3834-2: Comprehensive quality requirements for fusion welding certification, awarded by the Southern African’s Institute of Welding. 

• The ISO 14001: 2015 and OHSAS 18991: 2007 for the design, development, manufacturing of freight wagons, locomotives, bogies, coach bodies and related renewal parts. 

In addition, TMH Africa continues to deliver localized world class workmanship in: 

• New build manufacturing of diesel locomotives, passenger coaches and EMUs. 

• Life cycle maintenance for freight and passenger rolling stock. 

• Rolling stock modernization and service. 

“The past two years have given us an opportunity to better understand our customers, their needs and how our capabilities can be leveraged across the continent and beyond. We have a team of dedicated professionals who have ensured that the cornerstone of our business is putting the needs of the customer first,” notes TMH Africa MD Jerome Boyet. 

He adds that TMH prides itself in fostering a culture of continuous improvement and embracing diversity with more and more women joining the floor shops in South Africa. 

“The strength of our company is our workforce, and we understand that our diversity is what makes our teams stronger hence we have actively recruiting women to join us. We are starting to see the benefits of a team that is diverse in gender, experience, and age. We leverage and learn from each other and as we mark two years since we officially opened the facility and three since we started operating our heartfelt appreciation goes to our employees, our customers and our stakeholders,” Boyet shares. 

The TMH Group is the number rolling stock manufacturer in Russia and the CIS and the fourth worldwide. It has a workforce of over 100 000 employees and 25 sites globally. 

“We are bringing all the capabilities that the group has to our African customers and are ensuring that our solutions and offerings are tailor made to address their respective challenges and needs,” Boyet says. 

The solutions offered by TMH come at the opportune time for South Africa and Africa as all countries are looking to rebuild their economies post the economic slump. 

Rail is a big enabler for economic growth as it allows for the massive instant movements of goods and services across regions and countries. 

It is not surprising therefore that in describing the entrant of TMH into the South African market and the Gauteng province, the largest and wealthiest province in South Africa with an estimated 9 million people, Gauteng Premier David Makhura said: 

“Gauteng has been on a transformation, modernization and re-industrialization mission, especially in the manufacturing sector, and the TMH Africa facility opening fits well with our plan and strategy.” 

Today TMH Africa is the worldwide center of excellence for the narrow gauge within the TMH Group. TMH has concluded projects for amongst other OEMs and private sector clients Wabtec, Progress Rail and Sasol.