Unipart acquires rail bearing and axle box reconditioning business in Sydney, Australia

The acquisition was completed on 12 August 2024, transferring the business assets to Unipart Group Australia Pty.   

The railway bearing reconditioning business started in 1991 as Bearing Engineering Services Ltd. before being acquired by Schaeffler in 2005. The business has a long history of serving both passenger and freight rail customers across Australia and is responsible for the refurbishment of around 20,000 bearings and axle boxes per annum, making it a critical component of the rail maintenance supply chain.

Unipart has been trading in the Australian rail sector since 2005, with Australian business operations established in 2007, building a customer base across freight and passenger services, bringing supply chain, consultancy and technology expertise to customers.

Darren Leigh, Unipart Chief Executive officer, said: “The rail sector is a core existing and growth focus for Unipart and we are delighted to extend our capabilities in Australia. We welcome the new team members to Unipart and are excited to be in a position to offer our customers an extended range of performance improving services and solutions.”

Mark Carling, Managing Director for Unipart Rail in Australia and Asia Pacific, said: “Unipart is a supply chain solutions and performance improvement technologies provider with locations around the world. Whilst we have had materials supply, consultancy and technology introductions in Australia for some years, we utilised the skills of our UK-based Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) capabilities to serve our Australian customers. With this acquisition, from today we have expanded our local capabilities to further support our customers with a local and responsive MRO service.”

The acquisition retains the site’s expert railway bearing reconditioning and overhaul team, facilities and tooling, ensuring continuity of service for the MRO of critical bogie bearings.

Mark continued: “Whilst we ensure that we maintain an already excellent service for our customers, we will work with the new team to bring Unipart’s capabilities and culture to the business to further enhance performance and value for our customers, as well as implementing plans to provide an expanded range of services to the Australian railway industry.”