goal of exporting to the world – Corriere.it

Alstom, a French multinational that builds trains and railway infrastructure supplies its compatriot SNCF. And what’s strange? That all products, from traction catenaries to rails, from terminal blocks to electrical substations are made in Italy in the establishment of Valmadrera (province of Lecco), inaugurated in the presence of Attilio Fontanapresident of the Lombardy Region. The plant, 10,000 square meters in which 80 people work, brings together the activities that were previously divided into two distinct settlements. Here there is strong territorial roots and a great international vocation: out of a total of 590 suppliers, 520 are Italian companies. 90% of the products that leave here are exported all over the world: North African countries and Australia but also Milddle-East. Alstom Valmadrera has worked on the 130 km of the Riyadh Metro in Saudi Arabia. Without forgetting the “third track” which in urban trams guarantees power supply from the ground (APS system) and eliminates overhead power contact with its cables and pylons.

Not just trains

The turnover generated in the factory amounts to 30 million euros and does not only concern rail and urban transport. Among the customers there is also Terna which buys the clamps and turnbuckles to dampen the vibrations on the high voltage pylons. Our choice to remain in the territories in which we operate without relocating, on the contrary we want to improve to become more and more competitive. In addition to this, our company has 9 offices in Italy, 3,600 employees and ancillary activities of 5,000 people, explains Michele Viale, general manager of Alstom Italia and number one in the railway branch, we are a value for the country.

New jobs

Hiring does not stop either: Viale announces that the group is looking for 400 engineers, technicians and workers. Like many other businesses, they too struggle to find them. By now, even in university masters, the participation of young people is increasingly limited since companies hire them earlier. But a big boost to the business of the French group, which in Italy is worth one billion euros (15 billion worldwide) still comes from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan which is worth 25 billion alone for the transition of railway lines to zero emissions. To which is added a plan (to 2035) of the Italian railway network with billion-dollar investments. Among the final objectives there is also maximum safety for train travel. Through the ERTMS system with the European standard, every hundred kilometers a computer “brain” will have all the data on the line available, such as information on the running conditions of the train and in this way will be able to intervene to adjust the speed and even brake. The level of security will be very high and will also concern the most crowded stations such as Rome, Milan, Naples, explains Vincenzo Garofalo, managing director of Alstom Sistemi e Infrastrutture, one of the four divisions of the group. Even for the traveler the advantages are evident in the higher number of trains that will be able to circulate on the tracks.