Early history Johann Weitzer’sche Maschinen-Waggonfabrik Johann Weitzer (born in 1832, died in 1902) was an
Austrian skilled blacksmith and businessman. In 1854, he founded his own workshop, which expanded quickly, even producing vehicles for the construction of the
Suez Canal. The main products were railway wagons and arms for Austrian use. In 1872, he transformed his enterprise into a
joint-stock company, which later merged with two other companies to
Simmering-Graz-Pauker. In 1891, Johann Weitzer founded, as a subsidiary of the Austrian company in the
Hungarian part of
Austria-Hungary, the
John Weitzer Engine- & Waggon-building & Iron Casting Joint-stock Company (; ). It produced locomotives, railway waggons, tramcars (such as 17 items for Temesvár (today
Timișoara)), and, since 1903,
Weitzer railmotor, Europe's first successful series of railcars.
MARTA The automobiles manufactured in Arad was a licensed production of
Westinghouse 150 cars from 1909 to 1912. In 1912 the plant was taken over by
Austro-Daimler and renamed to
MARTA, the acronym for
Hungarian Automobile Joint-stock Company Arad (
Hungarian: Magyar Automobil Részvény Társaság Arad). After the edition auf 500 automobiles, civil production ceased in 1914, due to
World War I. Acsev14.jpg|Weitzer Railmotor at the
ACsEV Martatax.jpg|MARTA taxi Marta autobus.jpg|Marta bus in Arad in 1909 MARTA 35-45 HP Dublu-Phaeton karosszériás.jpg|Marta car Marta Trucks under construction.jpg|Marta Trucks under construction in the factory
ASTRA Arad in the 1980s In 1921, after the dissolution of the Austria-Hungary and the
Treaty of Trianon, the two companies, located in
Romania, merged to form
ASTRA Automobile & Waggon Factory (
Romanian: Fabrica de automobile și vagoane Astra). This company from 1922 to 1926 also manufactured some automobiles and lorries, but the main production were rail vehicles.
Întreprinderea de Vagoane Arad (IVA) After
World War II, the company was
nationalized and became Europe's biggest manufacturer of
freight cars, as
Întreprinderea de Vagoane Arad (IVA). The factory also produced passenger coaches and ensured the entire fleet of coaches for
Bucharest Metro. It produced railcars for internal market and exported to all five continents. In 1990, the company was renamed as
ASTRA Vagoane Arad. With privatization, in 1998-2000, it was split into specialists for the various branches. The production of freight cars, Astra Vagoane Arad, was sold to
Trinity Industries, which sold it to
International Railway Systems (IRS), seated in Luxemburg, but mainly based on plants in eastern Europe. In November 2010, Astra Vagoane Arad and the two other Romanian subsidiaries of IRS went bankrupt, and reformed under the name
Astra Rail Industries (ARI) in 2012. In 2016,
The Greenbrier Companies and ARI agreed to form a joint venture, 75% owned by Greenbrier. The new business is to be named
Greenbrier-Astra Rail. The other descenders of ASTRA Arad are (Astra Passenger Cars) and
Astra Bus. InnoTrans 2016 (018) Travelarz.JPG|Grain hopper car made by Astra Rail Industries 2018-10-22 (984) 37 84 7829 520-7 at Bahnhof Herzogenburg, Austria.jpg|
GATX tank car (Astra Rail Industries) Regiojet Astra Bmpz 013 Praha Smichov 01.jpg|Astra Vagoane Călători passenger car produced for
RegioJet Arad tram 2017 03.jpg|
Astra Imperio tram produced for CTP Arad (Astra Vagoane Călători in partnership with
Siemens Mobility) Temeswar, Armonia-Tram, 1.jpeg|Rebuilt
GT4 Armonia tram for STP
Timișoara (Astra Vagoane Călători in partnership with
Electroputere VFU) 2017 Trolleybus in Kolozsvár.jpg|
Astra Citelis 18 trolleybus for CTP
Cluj-Napoca (Astra Bus in partnership with
Iveco Bus) ==References==