KNDS in Görlitz: From a Rail Vehicle Plant to a Defense Manufacturing Site
One year after KNDS acquired the former Alstom rail plant in Görlitz, the company presented the progress of the transformation project. “We have already redesigned more than half of the plant’s 70,000 square meters of floor space,” said Florian Hohenwarter, CEO of KNDS Germany.
"By the end of the year, we will have 400 employees," said Florian Hohenwarter. "In addition to the GTF3, we are already producing hulls and turret housings for the LEOPARD 2 main battle tank, as well as modules for various variants of the BOXER wheeled armored vehicle, at our Görlitz facility. Production of turret housings for the PUMA infantry fighting vehicle and hulls for the BOXER wheeled armored vehicle is in the works. The progress we’ve been able to achieve in such a short time fills us with pride and underscores our ambition: Görlitz is building the future.”
A little over a year ago, on February 5, 2025, KNDS signed a landmark framework agreement to acquire the Görlitz site from Alstom. Thanks to its highly specialized workforce and favorable conditions, the site has quickly become a key pillar of KNDS for the upcoming production ramp-up. With Görlitz, KNDS has expanded its manufacturing capabilities to include a highly specialized production facility that enables the company to supply vehicle systems to the German Armed Forces and its partners more quickly and comprehensively than ever before.
- About KNDS
KNDS is a leading pan-European company in the field of land defense, employing nearly 11,000 people and generating revenue of 4.4 billion euros in 2025. With a solid order backlog of 33.1 billion euros as of December 31, 2025, the Group delivers innovative, end-to-end solutions for operational missions based on state-of-the-art technologies. Drawing on deep industry expertise and strong partnerships, KNDS develops open, interoperable solutions that combine manned and unmanned systems and are designed to meet the operational challenges of tomorrow. As a prime contractor, the company offers comprehensive “system-of-systems” capabilities—ranging from platforms to ammunition to services—while managing the entire value chain and product lifecycle. Born from the merger of Nexter and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, KNDS embodies the path toward a shared and efficient future for European defense sovereignty by promoting standardization and interoperability among European and NATO forces.