10 Years of the Rhomberg Sersa Rail Group, as recounted by Konrad Schnyder, President of the Owner Board; with the company since 1984.
When I was 30 years old, I had an experience that clearly illustrated the difficulties of company succession to me. That is why I always said that at the age of 55 I would like to have the succession arranged and in place. When our son did not want to take over the company, we threw the matter wide open. We were open to anything: Selling, selling shares, merging. There was one option that we ruled out from the start - going public. We sought professional assistance, and for the sale variant we even had top offers from other continents.
During this period, we collaborated with Rhomberg on the construction of the Lötschberg Base Tunnel. Rhomberg had won the construction project; Sersa supported them logistically. The challenges that we overcame together at that time had Hubert and me exclaiming so many times: “The two of us together are unbeatable!”
After evaluating all the options for succession, we started negotiating with the Rhombergs. I still remember the meeting of 1 September 2012 in Dr Luginbühl’s law chambers in Zurich very well. The negotiation details just did not want to gel. Around 11 p.m. Hubert and I requested a time-out. Outside of the negotiating room, we spoke to each other man to man. Then we went back into the room, laid the value of each company on the table and made our opinions known very resolutely. That is how it came about that our “marriage” as family businesses with 50/50 shares was announced at Innotrans 2012 on 17 September. Our employees were informed at 9 a.m., after which I personally spoke to our key clients on the phone for more than two days. There was not a single murmur. Our clients value the simplicity, openness and effort that they experience from us.
Standing together in difficult times
The economic crisis in Australia in 2012 was the first blow that put our joint position to the test. Every other comparable business withdrew from the Australian market at the time. A difficult situation - what was the right decision for us? Ultimately, Hubert and I believed in the market and looked for solutions to pull through. It was worth it.
In 2015, we were tested once again. We had bought company shares in Balfour Beatty Rail. One of them, a company in Germany, had to be placed under self-administration due to insolvency. It was a very difficult process in the beginning. We also lost employees, as there was great uncertainty. We passed the acid test because we discussed the big problems and together came to the conclusion: This is the right way to go. With a clear strategy that was supported by both owners, the process could then be executed perfectly by our excellent team. Today, all the companies are running extremely successfully and outstanding subsidiaries have emerged.
Together we also weathered the huge disappointment of losing the tender for the Ceneri Base Tunnel in Tessin to the Italians in 2016. To lose a major contract is a massive challenge. Compensating for the calculated and anticipated workload is similar to a real crisis. But here, too, the difficulties made us grow closer and we learned the lesson together. Today we are extremely successful in large projects.
Supporting each other in joint decisions
In all these challenges, it helped us that even with differences of opinion, we made a decision together and communicated it equally to the team members and to management. We often kicked up dust in our discussions, but then we would sweep it up together afterwards.
I could tell you many success stories from our collaboration, of which the most recent one makes me particularly happy. It is the alliance contract signed in Cottbus in March. We started as outsiders and won the contract. That was only possible because of our ten-year-old merger. The decision-makers at Deutsche Bahn were persuaded that they could rely on us in terms of price and deadlines. They believe in achieving it together with us. As a group, we are very proud of this and it inspires us.
Imagination, ideas just as important as knowledge
The fact that we are a family business is decisive for our success, because we think long term. We have short decision-making channels - Hubert and I normally make a decision within one day. We didn’t appoint managers, but rather entrepreneurs. Today we have an excellent C-level, a CEO who can handle the two company strands. In the markets, too, we have top executives. As owners, we can thus focus on strategically securing the future. The “sacred fire” of enthusiasm and passion can be seen across the whole group. Our employees have imagination, a wealth of ideas and knowledge in equal measure. That enables us to solve the numerous challenges faced by our clients. It is often the small ideas that inspire people. Our people prove this daily.
Leading railway engineering company in Europe in 2032
My vision for the year 2032: CO2 neutrality has changed our industry completely. As the leading railway engineering company in Europe we are extremely innovative. Because we think ahead, we gain market advantages. Technology is advanced across all areas of life. We are involved in major international projects with highly trained employees and automated processes. Collaboration with partners is much stronger than it was in 2022. The enthusiasm of our people in their modern workplaces is great; they are proud to work in our group. That makes us invincible.
