Salcef enhances the development and production of precast concrete solutions for the railway sector. Work has begun on the redevelopment and upgrading of an industrial complex for sleeper production, acquired by Salcef last September.

Innovation, productivity and environmental sustainability

Within two years, a new centre for the development and manufacture of precast concrete products will take shape.

With decades of experience in the railway sector, as well as in the management of innovative plants abroad, Salcef has launched an organic plan to redevelop the old Vianini production site, with a focus on innovation and environmental sustainability.

The Group’s vision has always centred on the synergy between production, quality and research. The aim of this new investment is to modernise and expand the industrial area of ​​the factory, to increase its productivity and develop its technological vocation. This will lead to a new production centre able to create innovative, high-tech, high-performance products to meet current market needs.

The intervention plan 

The project was designed to revolutionise both the factory and the adjacent industrial area and create a modern industrial complex, with new high-performance facilities and more efficient logistics.

Work is currently underway and will take place in the two-year period 2018-2019. It involves building two new plants: one for sleeper production and one for the production of turnout bearers. The existing production lines for tunnel segments and slabs for urban transport systems will also be upgraded, as well as new warehouses, parking areas and recreational areas for employees.

A logistics centre in the area adjacent to the current industrial complex will be set up to serve the Salcef Group, with the construction of two rail yards with new warehouses, workshops for rolling stock maintenance and storage areas.

General features of the future sleeper plant

The plant currently under construction is based on a carousel system with a high level of automation that will increase production by 50%. The structure will also collect and manage data, with complete traceability and quality control of the materials used.

The new production will be differentiated into a wide range of products. The same plant will build new railway RFI240 and RFI260 sleepers, as well as those for tunnels, which are lower to ensure compliance with the limit shapes.

The production system that will be used is pre-stressed: a solution aimed not only at enhancing the know-how acquired in over 60 years of activity, but the result of a strategic choice to invest in quality.

Thanks to a partnership with RECO, a Salcef Group company specialised in design and engineering,  optimised and more efficient sleepers have been developed, with a lower weight, an optimal shape and high quality materials.

Investment in research and development and the increase in the workforce (which tripled after the acquisition), together with numerous structural interventions, will make the ex-Vianini factory a cutting-edge logistics and production centre for the development of new precast concrete products at the service of increasingly efficient rail transport.