Chippenham, UK, 2016-Feb-03
Prior to the speech, the Prime Minister was given a tour of the company’s manufacturing facility and also met with Juergen Maier, CEO of Siemens UK, who said: “Europe is embarking on a new digital revolution for its railways. As it is currently the largest investor in rail infrastructure in Europe, the UK has a massive opportunity to lead and be central to setting the standards for that revolution. However, as these will largely be set at EU level, if we are not in the EU, I’m afraid British rail technology manufacturers would miss out. This means, that being part of the EU or not, could make the difference between the UK rail industry thriving or surviving. I know which one I’d like our activities in Chippenham to be a part of.”
During the visit, Mr Cameron also learned more about Siemens’ signalling capabilities in the UK, as well as the company’s continuing involvement in major projects such as the Thameslink and Crossrail programmes and the opportunities for future work on HS2.
Speaking after the visit, Paul Copeland, Managing Director of Siemens Rail Automation, added: “As one of the industry’s leading suppliers, we were delighted to welcome the Prime Minister to our site and to be able to showcase our research and development, manufacturing and delivery capabilities. We are enormously proud of our highly-trained, highly-skilled workforce and it was great for some of them to also be able to meet the Prime Minister on such a momentous occasion.”
The company has a long and successful history in the industry and in Chippenham (its presence in the town can be traced back to 1903) and with modern signalling and train control systems central to delivering safe, reliable and efficient railways, Siemens is understandably proud to be involved in many of the UK’s most high profile infrastructure projects. These include the recent redevelopment of Reading Station and opening of the new Borders Railway, as well as its continuing work on London’s underground network as well as Thameslink and Crossrail.
750 Siemens’ employees are based in Chippenham, the site being home to the company’s 11,000 square metre manufacturing operation as well as some of its research and development, project delivery, engineering and commercial teams.
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About Siemens
Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global technology powerhouse that has stood for engineering excellence, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality for more than 165 years. The company is active in more than 200 countries, focusing on the areas of electrification, automation and digitalization. One of the world’s largest producers of energy-efficient, resource-saving technologies, Siemens is No. 1 in offshore wind turbine construction, a leading supplier of gas and steam turbines for power generation, a major provider of power transmission solutions and a pioneer in infrastructure solutions as well as automation, drive and software solutions for industry. The company is also a leading provider of medical imaging equipment – such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging systems – and a leader in laboratory diagnostics as well as clinical IT. In fiscal 2015, which ended on September 30, 2015, Siemens generated revenue of €75.6 billion and net income of €7.4 billion. At the end of September 2015, the company had around 348,000 employees worldwide. Further information is available on the internet at www.siemens.com.
