Barely a year after the so-called “Future Contract” was agreed between Germany’s biggest trade union it is already clear that massive relocations of production and redundancies are on the cards which employs a total of 9,600 people at 13 sites in Germany announced at the end of last week that its rail car construction division is to be relocated to Poland The announcement confirms the statements of an Alstom regional director who was recently quoted in the Handelsblatt newspaper as saying that the utilisation of its German sites was no longer part of the company’s strategy orders were to be redirected to Wroclaw and Katowice in Poland The company’s German plants in Bautzen and Görlitz would then be given the work that could not be carried out in Poland or had to be improved This is exactly what is now being realised will be hit particularly hard and will no longer receive new orders for the construction of rail cars Görlitz is currently still building double-decker carriages for Israel and Deutsche Bahn (German Rail) and tram car bodies for Leipzig These orders are still being processed and are scheduled to end in mid-2026 Production will also be greatly reduced at the Hennigsdorf could be reduced to a development and service site At a plant meeting in Hennigsdorf on 28 May the workforce was informed that what happens after 2026 will depend on the order books The current announcements continue a long series of job losses that have been imposed at every level by IG Metall and the works councils it controls There were already mass redundancies in 2017 when the plant still belonged to the Bombardier group IG Metall agreed to the destruction of a total of 2,200 jobs even though the Bombardier workers in Hennigsdorf were prepared to defend their jobs and took to the streets in their thousands to do so The works council and IG-Metall promised the workforce that management would invest 8 million euros in the plant only 1 million euros was pulled out of the hat Bombardier was taken over by Alstom at the beginning of 2021 This was part of the global concentration process in railway construction and linked to a programme of fierce rationalisation In connection with the mobility transition the rail industry is experiencing strong growth in Europe and around the world The German Railway Industry Association reported record sales of 7.8 billion euros for the first half of 2023 following 13.9 billion in sales for 2022 as a whole A handful of large corporations are fighting for supremacy on the global market This is taking place at the expense of workers in every country which is expecting sales growth of 5 percent for 2023/2024 This means a continuation of the process that impacted former Bombardier employees after the takeover in 2021: i.e. continuous job losses and wage cuts in return for worthless promises to maintain plants None of these agreements are worth the paper they were written on the “Future Contract” that IG Metall agreed with Alstom in April 2023 was bound up with significant wage cuts for workers The waiver of holiday pay saved the company a total of 34 million euros per year the management promised to invest in the future chairman of the General Works Council at Alstom “In addition to job security for three years the agreement also guarantees to safeguard factories.” the Future Contract served to increase productivity then workers would be asked to pay the difference In the event that productivity targets are not achieved the resulting gap should be compensated for with contributions from employees that are objectively measured and jointly monitored To conceal the content of this arrangement it was also stated that if the “performance-related key figures” developed positively holiday pay would be paid back to employees the following year it was clear from the outset that this would never happen For the Bautzen and Görlitz sites in eastern Saxony the Future Contract offers a great opportunity to strengthen both plants in the long term and make them more competitive in order to offer our colleagues sustainable prospects for the future once again And IG Metall board member Jürgen Kerner commented: “It was a long and at times very arduous journey But it was worth it: the jobs have been saved and the sites secured.” When the company sought to continue withholding holiday pay in 2024 IG Metall was forced to terminate the Future Contract under pressure from the workforce 88.1 percent of union members voted in favour of this in a ballot The union is now accusing Alstom of having not adhered to the agreements and is demanding the return of the money withheld from employees does not accept the cancellation of the contract and insists on its enforcement until the end of 2026 The company is having the cancellation legally reviewed Even after the unilateral termination of the Future Contract it is clear that IG Metall will not lead a fight in defence of jobs it sounds like a threat to the workforce when IG Metall’s chief negotiator IG Metall is still prepared to work together with the company on competitiveness - and thus for the preservation of all plants we do not recognise this willingness on the part of the employer We are therefore not so naïve and are working on a Plan B the union is ready to accept any new deal with which its officials can once again deceive workers and ultimately make them pay Instead of leading the fight in defence of jobs and against cuts in real wages the union leadership prefers to hire expensive management consultants to come up with alternative concepts for greater profitability—all financed by union members’ contributions The trade unions do not represent their members They invariably see their task as defending “Germany as a business location,” and ensuring that it is “economically attractive,” i.e. as favourable as possible for companies such as Alstom even if they use the motto “better not cheaper” to cover their tracks the trade union newspaper metall was still promoting “value creation in Germany” under the headline “Setting the course for the future,” and quoted the vice-chairman of IG Metall demanding that a certain proportion of public contracts be awarded to German factories we will continue to produce in Germany in the medium and long term.” One plant is played off against the other at the expense of the workforce A fight for the interests of the workers is only possible if workforces unite across borders Workers are experiencing this in every industry and in every country Alstom operates in 100 countries worldwide with around 80,000 employees who face similar problems everywhere One has to ask what price the Polish trade unions paid for Alstom’s relocation of rail car production to Katowice In order to restore their wages and defend their jobs workers at Alstom must take stock of and break with the trade union apparatuses There must be an end to endless concessions in the form of job losses wage cuts and deteriorating working conditions in the name of “competitiveness.” A combined struggle for the principled defence of jobs and against wage theft is only possible in opposition to the trade union apparatuses and must be waged internationally The defence of jobs therefore requires the establishment of action committees which enable workers willing to fight to network internationally and jointly organise the defence of their jobs—as the basis of their livelihood The WSWS supports the establishment of action committees and helps to establish links with workers at other sites and in other countries Send a Whatsapp message to the following number This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page French train manufacturer Alstom left the fate of its plants in Hennigsdorf Bautzen and Görlitz in eastern Germany hanging in the air The IG Metall union has been agreeing to job cuts and wage reductions for years It has organised rationalisation programmes itself arguing that this was the only way to make these—and other—plants “competitive” in the face of domestic and international competition 3,700 workers in these plants confront the immediate loss of their livelihoods Alstom Group CEO Henri Poupart-Lafarge refused to provide clear information at the press conference only providing hints about what lies in store The situation was “objectively complex,” he said in a press interview which is related to Bombardier’s earlier market losses in Germany,” he said A total of 9,600 people work at 13 locations in Germany Finance daily Handelsblatt quoted the Alstom regional director saying that the capacity utilisation of the German sites was not part of the company’s strategy Orders went to Wroclaw and Katowice in Poland; Bautzen or Görlitz would then receive what could not be completed there or had to be reworked The Alstom plants in eastern Germany had belonged to Bombardier until the end of 2020 After the merger between Siemens and Bombardier failed in 2017 due to objections from the European antitrust authorities Alstom took over Bombardier’s railway division at the beginning of 2021 the two companies were considered the world’s No Only the Chinese train manufacturer CRRC generated more revenue from the construction of rail vehicles The takeover of Bombardier by Alstom at the beginning of 2021 was the culmination of the concentration process in the railway construction industry for dominance on the global market and was linked to a brutal rationalisation programme to increase profits the group operates in 100 countries worldwide with around 80,000 employees Alstom CEO Henri Poupart-Lafarge offered shareholders the prospect of a “double-digit increase in earnings per share” as a result of “increased efficiency and a stronger operating profile.” From the fourth year after the takeover “cost synergies totalling €400 million per year” were expected merging and/or closing parts of the business will take place on the backs of the employees and will be co-organised by IG Metall the largest Bombardier plants in Hennigsdorf near Berlin replaced permanent workers with temporary labour and relocated work processes to low-wage countries such as Poland or the Czech Republic thousands of Bombardier workers demonstrated in Hennigsdorf in defence of their jobs But IG Metall nevertheless agreed to the loss of 2,200 jobs at the German sites IG Metall went so far as to agree to the piecemeal destruction of more than half of the jobs It used the announcement by the German Bombardier Group management to invest a sum of €8 million in the company to justify the job cuts this announcement was never meant seriously and IG Metall continued in 2021 where they had previously left off at Bombardier—with continuous job cuts and wage cuts in return for worthless promises about maintaining the sites None of these agreements were worth the paper they were written on Alstom announced a programme of cuts in Germany that included the elimination of up to 1,300 jobs the Hennigsdorf site with Hennigsdorf Drives Siegen and Kassel had “structural and long-term underutilisation.” The union and the General Works Council it heads then engaged management consultants in order to draw up their own plan for the cutbacks that had been “announced by the Group and realised through productivity increases,” and to prevent the relocation of work to foreign Alstom plants Under the motto “better instead of cheaper,” the union presented a plan to make the sites competitive for the future instead of unimaginatively letting them face death by a thousand cuts,” writes IG Metall on the background to the current situation The union’s willingness to make concessions to the Group management is boundless The IG Metall statement reads: “In the event that the productivity targets are not met the resulting gap should be compensated for with contributions from employees that are objectively measured and jointly monitored.” It was under this plan that the so-called “Future Contract” was concluded at the beginning of April 2023 “Setting the course for greater competitiveness in Germany.” the “contributions of the workforce” in the affected plants amounted to many million euros per year these affect special payments under the collective agreements If performance-related key figures are achieved the wage losses will be repaid in the following year Alstom stated that it would invest 2 percent of turnover in Germany each year in the German sites allegedly to increase their competitiveness With the end of the zero-interest-rate policy it was no longer possible to simply finance the debt with cheap loans Alstom announced that it would again cut 1,500 jobs worldwide and sell off assets the Alstom board also announced an increase in share capital totalling €1.75 billion IG Metall complains that it has complied in every respect with the provisions of the “Future Contract” and had provided the company with givebacks covering the approximately 10,000 employees the company had not honoured the agreements at least not those propagated by the union and the works council the investment requirement in Hennigsdorf has been reduced from €11 million to around €3.5 million Alstom’s actions are also said to make it impossible to achieve the production targets so that the special payments saved can be repaid IG Metall and the works council are also complaining that the employment figures for the individual sites set out in the Future Contract are not being adhered to; in Görlitz 64 in Bautzen 42 and in Siegen 26 fewer employees are to work than agreed It was also six months overdue for the sites in the Group that are not covered by collective labour agreements to be bound by them IG Metall officials and the General Works Council begged for the agreement to be honoured They appealed to the conciliation committee but the Alstom management refused to make any concessions in February this year it announced a further programme of up to 290 job cuts in Germany even before the second payment of their holiday pay 88.1 percent of union members in the affected plants voted in a ballot in favour of terminating the “Future Contract.” IG Metall and the General Works Council pleaded with Alstom’s management until the very end to give in and implement the agreed measures according to IG Metall Oranienburg and Potsdam IG Metall and its works council representatives were never prepared to put up a serious fight in defence of the jobs Their only concern has always been to push through the savings with “imaginative” proposals for cuts and nebulous promises to bolster their role as irreplaceable co-managers head of the works council at the Görlitz plant and chairman of the general works council Workers at Alstom—and not only in the affected plants—must take stock and consciously break with the trade unions There must be an end to the limitless concessions in the form of job losses wage cuts and worsening working conditions in the name of “competitiveness” that the corporations use to play national and international sites off against each other A joint struggle with fellow workers in France the Czech Republic and many other countries for the fundamental defence of all jobs is only possible against IG Metall and union apparatuses The defence of jobs therefore requires the establishment of independent rank-and-file action committees in which workers who are ready to fight can network internationally and jointly organise the defence of their jobs—as the basis of their livelihood The WSWS supports the establishment of action committees independent of the trade unions and will help to establish links with workers at other sites and in other countries Get in touch with us by sending a WhatsApp message to the following number: +49 163 33 78 340 and register using the form below By 2018-09-12T14:52:45+01:00 EUROPE: Alstom has agreed to divest its Coradia Polyvalent and Talent 3 multiple-unit families to CAF along with the production facilities at Reichshoffen in northern France GERMANY: Alstom has demonstrated its prototype battery-powered Talent 3 electric-multiple unit in Sachsen Austria & Switzerland Müslüm Yakisan emphasising that the company ‘has the clear goal of becoming the international leader in alternative drive technologies for rail travel’ GERMANY: Hybrid battery-electric trains could be running on the Berlin – Neuruppin – Wittenberge route by 2028 according to a study undertaken for the District of Ostprignitz-Ruppin by the Innoverse transport consultancy Site powered by Webvision Cloud Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker The manufacturer is planning to have the centre open by 2027 to replace its Velten facility which is reaching capacity Swiss rail manufacturer Stadler is building a new commissioning centre for rail vehicles in Hennigsdorf Germany as part of its expansion plans in the region.  The company will convert existing halls at the 46,000m2 site in Brandenburg and build a new customer acceptance centre by 2027 to replace the existing commissioning centre in Velten which has reached capacity.  said the company wanted to affirm its connection to the Berlin-Brandenburg region where it already has multiple locations.  He said: “Our commissioning centre in Velten is now reaching the limits of its capacity we have decided to establish Hennigsdorf as a location and set up our new commissioning centre with modern infrastructure there.  we are not only creating future-oriented jobs in the region but also setting another milestone in our 20-year history of growth.”  The Hennigsdorf site will include a total of 1,314m of track along with crane and pit systems inside the halls while another 744m track system will be built outside the centre with overhead lines to test regional trains and third rails for underground and S-Bahn trains constructed at Stadler’s Berlin-Pankow factory Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis the existing centre in Velten will be converted to a service centre to host the company’s Service Division work on modernisations The manufacturer’s work in the region has included significant projects such as the manufacturing of new trains for the S-Bahn transit system, with the last of 106 new 483/484 series trains being delivered in September 2023 Nominations are now open for the prestigious Railway Technology Excellence Awards - one of the industry's most recognised programmes celebrating innovation This is your chance to showcase your achievements Don't miss the opportunity to be honoured among the best - submit your nomination today Give your business an edge with our leading industry insights View all newsletters from across the GlobalData Media network Source: press release eROCKIT AG Berlin/Hennigsdorf | eROCKIT AG has taken over 100% in eROCKIT Systems GmbH and started issuing shares as part of a first public offer as a pioneering manufacturer of pedal-controlled electric motorcycles This means that the eROCKIT Group is well positioned for future corporate growth “The climate targets and the increasing worldwide bans on vehicles with internal combustion engines offer an unprecedented opportunity for new players in the market The legal form of a stock corporation is ideal for accepting further investors on the capital market and meeting the high demand more quickly “The eROCKIT is probably one of the most important breakthrough innovations in the field of two-wheelers As an emission-free top product ‘Made in Germany’ it is able to solve global urban mobility problems The very special is the so called human hybrid technology which can also be used in other markets,” explains Richard Gaul Markus Leder, former head of development at Pininfarina, is in charge of production and quality control. Prominent shareholders of eROCKIT AG include German first league soccer star Max Kruse (1 media entrepreneur Aaron Troschke and the German investment company Mittelstaendische Beteiligungsgesellschaft Berlin-Brandenburg eROCKIT AG is now open to new investors and intends to go public on a stock exchange at a later date In the worldwide booming electro mobility market the eROCKIT is an extraordinary vehicle (light motorcycle / L3e / 125ccm category) that differs fundamentally from other vehicles thanks to it’s innovative pedal drive The eROCKIT is intuitive and easy to use like a bicycle but it has the acceleration of a motorcycle Tested by German authorities and road legal The eROCKIT is a first-class vehicle of German engineering The eROCKIT has a breathtaking acceleration of up to 90 km/h with a range of 120 kilometers It is made of high quality materials such as carbon and aluminum and has an award-winning design eROCKIT AG is registered in the commercial register of the Berlin-Charlottenburg Local Court (HRB231453 B) and is a stock corporation managed under German law It holds 100% of the shares in eROCKIT Systems GmbH in Hennigsdorf near Berlin This is where the unique pedal-controlled eROCKIT electric motorcycle is built The eROCKIT Group team consists of first-class two-wheeler and automotive experts supported by a strong management team Amid Elon Musk’s meddling on behalf of the AfD the Linke is gaining strong support from women and young voters As the world’s richest person meddles at will on behalf of the far right in the German election campaign a leftist party calling for taxing billionaires out of existence has risen from the ashes in the race’s final stretch successor to the East German communists who built the Berlin Wall and just months ago on life support after an internal schism has had a surprise resurgence before the 23 February poll As it responds to a radically shifting zeitgeist the Linke is attracting strong new support from women and young voters with its call for “democratic socialism” marked by affordable housing The conservative frontrunner Friedrich Merz has been be criticised for accepting support from the far right for his hardline immigration proposals Photograph: Michael Kappeler/EPA“You’ve made yourself an accomplice and today you’ve changed this country for the worse,” Reichinnek her forearm decorated with a tattoo of the revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg said in a rousing speech as the CDU leader tried to laugh off the frontal attack quoting the old leftist anthem in a video watched more than 30m times in its first week online With Elon Musk and the US vice-president JD Vance openly courting the anti-immigrant anti-Islam Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) the German election campaign has undergone a dizzying scramble of traditional alliances As hard right populists succeed across much of Europe and incumbents such as Germany’s Social Democrat (SPD) chancellor, Olaf Scholz many leftist voters in particular have said they feel unsure where to turn creating an opening for the once down-and-out Linke Elon Musk has openly courted the Alternative für Deutschland and its leader Photograph: Hannibal Hanschke/EPA“The explosion of rents in cities has hurt so many people and the Linke is the only party really addressing it,” said Michael Müllich at a standing-room-only campaign event last week in the Treptow district of eastern Berlin Asked whether a Linke vote may be wasted given its slim chances of entering government the computer science student said the party’s “tax the rich” message was crucial “And I’m counting on it to stand up to the AfD when it becomes the biggest opposition party,” Müllich added who works in administration for the city government said she was “excited” to vote for the Linke in the first national election since she became a German citizen in 2023 “The lurch to the right really scares me, although I couldn’t be better integrated [into German society],” said the 19-year-old, who arrived with the 2015 refugee influx “The Linke is the one party really rejecting hate and incitement All the other parties seem to want to fight the AfD by imitating it.” With climate protection slipping from the agenda as the economy the Greens have returned to the low double digits in the polls – kingmakers at best Meanwhile, Sahra Wagenknecht the left’s most prominent face before Reichinnek defected from the Linke and formed her own party a year ago with a nativist call for slashing immigration increasing social welfare benefits for German citizens and reviving ties to the Kremlin After a strong run in June’s European elections and three eastern state polls in September her BSW party’s national campaign has since fizzled amid internal divisions a couple doing their grocery shopping in Hennigsdorf a traditional SPD stronghold north of Berlin where the AfD has made significant inroads Free newsletterA digest of the morning's main headlines from the Europe edition emailed direct to you every week day “I know I’m going to vote for a leftist party but the SPD with Scholz has been a disappointment in reducing inequality and working with our neighbours We need new leadership – that’s obvious,” said Ketel One voter who voted for Sahra Wagenknecht in state elections worried her party had ‘become more of a cult of personality’ Photograph: Jens Schlueter/AFP/Getty Images“I was tempted by the BSW and voted for it in the state election [in September] but Wagenknecht just attacks the other parties rather than making the case for her own,” said Knothe “It’s become more of a cult of personality – it’s always about her.” the BSW and the pro-business Free Democrats were just weeks ago all teetering on the 5% hurdle to parliamentary representation in opinion polls But the Linke, which has had to hunt for bigger campaign venues in the last two weeks to accommodate the crowds, is now seen as most likely to get over the line after growing to 6-7% support Reichinnek has argued the BSW split allowed the Linke to staunch years of internal squabbling and focus on its core cost of living issues. The party has also softened key foreign policy stances including opposition to Nato, now condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine while calling for a “diplomatic” solution to the conflict Linke membership has surged to the highest level since the 2009 financial crisis and pollsters say that some of the ground lost to the far right in the former communist east has been regained among west German intellectuals has ruled out forming a coalition with the AfD which is polling in second place with about 20% Analysts say the drive to the right may have in turn reinvigorated the left Just as the AfD’s strength has alarmed the conservatives the far-left renaissance may serve as a wake-up call to the weakened SPD and the Greens that they risk losing touch with younger voters A mock election held among the under-18s last week showed the Linke coming in first place with more than 20% the CDU/CSU and the AfD nearly tied at almost 16% each The Greens came in a distant last place among the main parties with just over 12% You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed 3D Printing Top Workplaces German-based manufacturer Bombardier Transportation plans to use the large-scale industrial-grade Stratasys F900 3D Printer as part of its operations in the DACH region The manufacturer will produce final end-use rail parts as well as manufacturing tools and prototypes for trains and trams across German-speaking countries André Bialoscek Head of Vehicle Physical Integration Hennigsdorf The Stratasys F900 3D Printer will be installed at Bombardier Transportation’s largest manufacturing site worldwide in Hennigsdorf The F900 will be deployed to accelerate and customize rail part production reduce costly inventory for spare parts and increase production flexibility for parts and tools The manufacturer plans to use the technology to 3D print interior and exterior train parts Bombardier will also 3D print custom rail tools to aid the production process and speed up the launch of new platforms “The Stratasys F900 3D Printer allows us to widen our service offering in such a way that we are now able to 3D print large spare parts custom rail parts and manufacturing tools – all in-house and on-demand,” comments André Bialoscek Head of Vehicle Physical Integration Hennigsdorf “Having previously used fiber glass and tin for train components the ability to use ULTEM 9085 resin meets our application criteria and takes us to a new level in terms of reducing the costs and lengthy lead times associated with those traditional materials.” Core to the choice of Stratasys was the F900 3D Printer’s large build tray leveraging the unique properties of ULTEM 9085 resin material Its high strength-to-weight ratio and flame-smoke-toxicity rating suit production applications and is a popular choice among customers within the transport industry for achieving compliance to the Rail Standard EN45545-2 The 3D printed rail parts produced by Bombardier Transportation will primarily support the specific production demands of German Swiss and Austrian rail and tram companies – strengthening the company’s ability to maintain produce and replace train and tram parts quickly and cost-effectively comments: “Bombardier Transportation’s investment in our F900 3D Printer is synonymous with the huge interest we’re seeing in the mobility sector for industrial-grade 3D printing solutions that can enhance traditional manufacturing across a variety of interior and exterior rail applications.” “Our FDM-based additive manufacturing technology offers rail companies and maintenance service providers advanced We look forward to working closely with Bombardier Transportation to support the deployment of this technology within their operations and enable them to produce customized rail parts on-demand – faster and more cost-effectively than ever before.” The Bombardier TALENT 3 battery electric multiple unit was premiered during InnoTrans 2018 The prototype vehicle is equipped with four Bombardier MITRAC traction batteries and can travel routes about 25 miles on non-electrified railways the next-generation battery-operated trains are expected to travel up to 62 miles The range will increase proportionally with the continuous capacity increases in new battery developments said they look at the 30 years total cost of ownership According to a comparative study by the Technical University of Dresden Von Mach stressed that energy management and energy consumption are an integral part of the project The development of the train is subsidized by the German federal government as part of an innovation program for electromobility with $4.7 million (€4 million) The French manufacturer has been re-evaluating its facilites in Germany as it moved production away from factories inherited after its Bombardier acquisition Germany could be sold off according to reports as the manufacturer continued assessing its operations in the country The coach and car body manufacturing facility was inherited by the French company after its takeover of Bombardier Transportation in 2021 but its future has been left hanging in recent months after the company’s CEO Henri Poupart-Lafarge said it has “overcapacity” at its German sites Alstom did not directly confirm a potential sale but has told media that it was in “constructive” discussions with an unnamed second party on the future of the site in Görlitz.  The Waggonbau Görlitz factory has been open since 1849 and is working on multiple orders that would keep it in operation until mid-2026 but its future remains uncertain and likely depends on the identity of a potential buyer The factory’s potential sale reflects a wider move away from construction in Germany by Alstom after the company’s regional director told media earlier this year that utilisation of its full manufacturing capacity in the country was not part of its strategy.  Factories in Hennigsdorf and Bautzen had also been left with their futures uncertain after Poupart-Lafarge’s comments, but a $4.3bn contract signed between Alstom and go.Rheinland and Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR) last month provided certainty for their operations The landmark contract will see Alstom construct 90 new trains for VRR’s services in Cologne with initial development to be conducted in Hennigsdorf and production to be completed in Bautzen.  The potential closure of the Görlitz site also comes only months after Alstom’s factory in Derby, UK was saved from closure by a £370m ($472m) contract from Transport for London after months of discussions with the UK Government German rail maker Bombardier Transportation has installed a Stratasys F900 3D printer at its Hennigsdorf facility located in north-west Berlin The printer will enable Bombardier to speed up final part production of interior and exterior train parts such as air ducts the company will be able to cut inventory for spare parts while boosting production flexibility for parts and tools Bombardier will use the 3D printing machine to produce customised rail tools to support the production process and accelerate the launch of new platforms Bombardier’s head of vehicle physical integration at the Hennigsdorf facility André Bialoscek said: “The Stratasys F900 3D Printer allows us to widen our service offering in such a way that we are now able to 3D print large spare parts customized rail parts and manufacturing tools the ability to now utilise ULTEM 9085 resin meets our application criteria and takes us to a new level in terms of reducing the costs and lengthy lead times associated with those traditional materials.” The F900 3D Printer was selected due to its large build tray high strength-to-weight ratio and flame-smoke-toxicity rating Bombardier Transportation said that the 3D printed rail parts will be supplied to rail and tram companies operating in Germany Switzerland and Austria to help them maintain produce and replace train and tram parts rapidly and economically EMEA Stratasys president Andreas Langfeld said: “Our FDM-based additive manufacturing technology offers rail companies and maintenance service providers advanced the highest level of print reliability and repeatability in the industry “We look forward to working closely with Bombardier Transportation to support the deployment of this technology within their operations and enable them to produce customised rail parts on-demand faster and more cost-effectively than ever before.” Bombardier Transportation acquired the F900 3D Printing System through Stratasys’ DACH distributor alphacam Human longevity has been previously linked by researchers to genetic factors and certain life-style factors such as physical activity or the Mediterranean diet Italian researchers from La Sapienza University in Rome have identified an additional factor which significantly contributes to a longer life In a pilot study on some of the oldest people of the world they discovered that the perfusion of organs and muscles of the centenarians was as efficient as that in people who were 30 years younger Results of the CIAO (Cilento Intitiative on Aging Outcome) pilot study presented today in the Italian town of Pollica suggest that low blood levels of the peptide hormone Adrenomedullin (bio-ADM) are an indicator for such a good microcirculation Making longevity measurable has long been a scientific goal as it could open up the avenue to a systematic identification of factors contributing to an extended life span Salvatore Di Somma and his team carried out comprehensive health and life style assessments of two study groups that live in the Cilento region located in the province of Salerno in southern Italy: In the first were 29 so-called 'SuperAgers' (median age 92 years) while the second was made up of 52 younger relatives (median age 60 years living in the same household) who are expected to live just as long because they have the same genetic background and have been exposed to the same environmental and lifestyle factors Blood biomarker analyses were carried out by the diagnostic company sphingotec (Hennigsdorf It measured levels of the heart-function biomarker MR-proANP as well as a marker for kidney function (penKid) and bio-ADM The last is a regulator of vasodilation and blood vessel integrity The results were compared to those of a cohort of 194 healthy persons (median age 63.9 years) who were monitored over eight years in the earlier Malmö Preventive Project (MPP Principal Investigator Professor Olle Melander low values of MR-proANP and penKid among the subjects in the two younger control groups indicated no signs of heart or kidney dysfunction both biomarkers were elevated in the SuperAgers possibly due to the process of organ aging even though the older group had levels of the two biomarkers that were as high as those found in patients experiencing heart failure (HF) or acute kidney injury (AKI) the bio-ADM values - which are often pathologically elevated in HF or AKI patients - were as low as those in both reference groups "Very low concentrations of this biomarker indicate a well-functioning endothelial and microcirculatory system allowing good blood perfusion of organs and muscles," concludes Di Somma A good microcirculation is what makes marathon runners perform better at the same heart rate than the average man or woman on the street "We are excited about the connection between bio-ADM levels and a good microcirculation as an indicator for good quality of life" who was instrumental in developing the bio-ADM assay "If bio-ADM proves to be a reliable biomarker for longevity this will open up the avenue to a systematic analysis of the factors contributing to longevity" "We are excited to contribute to the identification of lifestyle factors ensuring a good microcirculation." The researchers are currently planning to extend the pilot study to 2,000 people from the Cilento region One major goal of the follow-up study is to investigate whether certain components of the local Mediterranean diet could affect the bio-ADM level The cuisine typical to the region traditionally uses number of plants native to the area Another idea is to bring people with high bio-ADM levels to Cilento and measure whether the local environment has an effect on levels of the microcirculation biomarker The CIAO (Cilento Intitiative on Aging Outcome) study was designed to identify life style genetic and epigenetic factors contributing to longevity in the Cilento region With an average life expectancy of 92 years for women (Italian average: 84) and 85 years for men (Italian average: 79) the Cilento has one of the world's highest concentrations of centenarians - even higher than in Okinawa (Japan) the most intensively investigated centenarian hotspot The contributors to the current pilot study were identified through local physicians who acquired the informed consent of their patients A mobile bus equipped with all instrumentation for a comprehensive health assessment was used to visit the study participants blood samples for biomarker analysis were taken and participants were interviewed about their life style habits Microcirculation describes blood flow through the smallest vessels (capillaries) in the circulatory system oxygen and nutrients are directly delivered to cells Blood pressure and body temperature is also controlled by the microcirculation through dilation or constriction of the capillary network that penetrates muscles the body's capillaries would stretch 90,000-110,000 kilometers - more than twice the circumference of Earth they would cover an area the size of two football fields (500-700 sqm) people have around 200-300 capillaries/mm2 but endurance athletes like runners can have up to 40% more (300-500 capillaries/mm2) This contributes to better muscle perfusion Professor of Internal Medicine at the University La Sapienza in Rome Strong personal links have given him unique access to the population of centenarians living in the Cilento he identified rosemary as an ethnobotanically conserved part of the local Mediterranean cuisine that might could be contributing to longevity in the region Conserved gene variants associated with longevity were also identified in Cilento's population in the Southern Italy Centenarian Study (SICS) The variants affect insulin sensitivity (FOXOA3 RNA editing (ADARB1+2) and the aromatase pathway (Cyp19 a unique profile of lipids in the membrane of red blood cells (erythrocytes) was identified in 2008 within the the framework of the SICS study Centenarian hotspots: Several regions have been identified by National Geographic writer Dan Buettner as longevity hotspots Icaria (Greece) and a group of Seventh-day Adventists living in Loma Linda (US a mountainous region 150 kilometres south from Naples Although it didn't earn a mention in Buettner's book on the so-called "Blue zones" of centenarians people who live there are getting older than in Okinawa the world's very best-studied longevity hot-spot Life expectation of women living in the Cilento (92 years) is 8 years above the Italian average; and that of men (85 years) 6 years above Adrenomedullin is a soluble peptide hormone Mainly released by the inner layer of blood vessels (endothelial cells) its biological function is to control vasodilation an important regulator of blood pressure and organ perfusion In several studies involving more than 16.000 patients the plasma level of the bioactive Adrenomedullin (bio-ADM) has been proven to predict and provide an early diagnosis for circulation dysfunction bio-ADM blood levels rise 2-3 days before septic shock occurs Elevated levels of bio-ADM are a specific indicator of vasodilation and leakage from microcirculatory capillaries which in sepsis patients subsequently lead to severe hypotension malperfusion of organs (for which the body can't compensate by increasing the heart rate) are a specific indicator for an intact microcirculation ensuring good muscle and organ blood supply without any cardiovascular stress are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system Copyright © 2025 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Traffic in the Elbe Valley has another bottleneck: after the Dresden Carola Bridge the crossing in Bad Schandau is also being removed - for safety reasons The closure of another Elbe bridge is putting the population and economy in the Elbe valley to the test It is unclear when and to what extent the bridge on federal road 172 in Bad Schandau in Saxon Switzerland can be used in future Further investigations should bring clarity by the end of the year pedestrians and cyclists as well as ambulances the structure is made of prestressed concrete This decision was very spontaneous for the residents and businesses in Bad Schandau Head of the Mobility Department at the Saxon Ministry of Transport The results of a special inspection following the partial collapse of Dresden's Carola Bridge had revealed an acute need for action in Bad Schandau The time until the end of the year will now be used for in-depth investigations in addition to the Carola Bridge in Saxony a further 19 bridges are in focus and are now being examined separately This concerns bridges of a similar design - so-called prestressed concrete bridges in which Hennigsdorf prestressing steel was used the bridge will now be inspected and samples will be taken to determine whether there is any further damage The bridge has what is known as an under-tensioning band head of department at the State Office for Road Construction and Transport it is not yet possible to say whether the bridge can be repaired and in what form it can be used in the future The underlay cannot simply be replaced in its entirety "It was necessary to close the bridge completely" Many residents of Bad Schandau drive or cycle across the bridge to the train station every morning to catch the S-Bahn to Dresden A second ferry was set up to take people across the Elbe The ferries run every 15 minutes and operate from 4.30 am to 10.30 pm There is still no solution for passengers on night trains that arrive later Regional transport has distributed half of its bus fleet on each side of the Elbe and serves all routes - only the section on the bridge is missing said a representative of regional transport The question arose as to who would bear these costs the district of Saxon Switzerland-Eastern Ore Mountains as the responsible authority could not an ambulance has also been positioned on the other side of the Elbe from Bad Schandau in order to be more flexible and avoid delays in an emergency spokesman for the Ministry of Economic Affairs thanked the residents for their understanding: "It's going to be a stressful few weeks for the people on site." 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