Knorr-Bremse was founded in the year 1905 in Berlin by inventor Georg Knorr. The initial basis for the company''s commercial success was provided by an agreement with the Prussian State Railways to supply single-chamber express braking systems offering considerably enhanced safety performance compared with traditional systems. In the early twentieth century, train guards still had to operate the brakes by hand, from so-called "brake vans". The first pneumatic brakes were of a basic design, but before long, indirect automatic systems using a control valve were developed.
The second main area of activity for Knorr-Bremse emerged in the year 1922, when company moved into pneumatic braking systems for commercial road vehicles. Knorr-Bremse was the first European company to develop a new kind of pneumatic system that applied the brakes simultaneously to all four wheels of a truck as well as its trailer. The resultant reduction in braking distances made a significant contribution to improving road safety.
As the world''s leading manufacturer of braking systems for rail and commercial vehicles, Knorr- Bremse has been pioneering development, production and marketing of modern braking systems for a variety of applications for over 100 years, making an important contribution to improved safety on the railways and the roads. Other lines of business include automatic door systems, rail vehicle air conditioning systems and torsional vibration dampers for internal combustion engines.
In the year 2008 the Group''s workforce of approximately 15,000 achieved world-wide sales of EUR 3.38 billion. The key to the market success is the local presence and high flexibility- the result of decentralized, transparent corporate structures, internationally co-ordinated development and manufacturing operations and a global service network. As a forward-looking company it rely on the innovative skills and commitment of the workforce to retain the lead in the development of state-of-the-art technologies for rail and commercial road vehicles.
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