VR FleetCare updates its growth strategy - Component services as one focus area in the future

The Finnish rail fleet maintenance company VR FleetCare went through a service-focused reorganization process in order to boost growth as well as to develop services and enhance customer experience further.

From the beginning of February 2021, all rolling stock components’ lifecycle services can be found under the Component services business line. Growth targets in the new area of business is enhanced by market analyses, according to which the maintenance and repairing services of components hold identifiable potential in both neighboring areas as well as in other rail equipment, such as trams and metros. In the near future, the business is supposed to invest in canvassing and surveying new business opportunities. Anders Karlsson has been appointed to lead the business.

The VR FleetCare Component service performs maintenance work on electric, power electronics and mechanical components. At the moment, approximately 200 professionals in the business unit repairs over 2,000 individual component items in a year.

“In the last few years, we have built efficient and well-functioning production processes which can provide internationally competitive maintenance services. We are able to provide component refurbishments for all kind of rolling stock, even in small batches, when needed,” says Anders Karlsson, Vice President of VR FleetCare’s Component services.




Responsible and data driven component service

The Finnish maintenance company has for decades developed solutions for prolonging the lifecycle of components. Regarding spare parts and components, VR FleetCare focuses on sustainable development and environmental responsibility.

“The circular economy is an important part of our operations and now it has been harnessed even more comprehensively to be part of our business operations. We repair and refurbish components and reinstall them instead of replacing the components with new ones. Responsibility and the circular economy are growing global trends and we estimate they will become more common in the railway world as well,” Karlsson says.

The strategic objective of VR FleetCare is to develop and increase smart and data driven maintenance, and this will have a great impact on the component maintenance in the future. The rolling stock components usually have expensive lifecycle costs. The aim of smart and data driven maintenance is to improve the reliability of the components as well as improve the lifecycle costs.

“Data driven maintenance is the future and one of the biggest factors sharpening the competitive edge. It increases safety but can also decrease the lifecycle costs of rolling stock. We have good examples of smart maintenance of components; Monitoring the bogies creates the opportunity to optimize the maintenance programmes and, for example, measuring wheel profiles as well as using the data gained from that in lathe work is something we already do in the maintenance of wheels,” Karlsson explains.

www.vrfleetcare.com

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