Adtranz

ADtranz (ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation) was a major European rail-traction manufacturer formed on 1 January 1996 by the merger of ABB Transportation, the Swedish-Swiss group's rail division, and Daimler-Benz Transportation, the German industrial giant's rail subsidiary. At its formation ADtranz was one of the largest rail manufacturers in the world, combining the German and Swiss technical traditions of Daimler-Benz and BBC Brown Boveri respectively with the British manufacturing capacity that ABB had acquired from the former BREL works.

In the United Kingdom ADtranz operated principally from the former BREL works at Derby Litchurch Lane and from Crewe, continuing the British tradition of high-quality electric and diesel multiple-unit manufacture. The firm's British products included contributions to the Networker family of EMUs for south-east England commuter routes and the early Voyager and Pendolino tilting-train stock that transformed West Coast Main Line services in the early 2000s. The Pendolino in particular represented a landmark in British railway engineering, bringing Italian tilting-train technology to one of the world's busiest inter-city routes.

After the Daimler-Chrysler merger of 1998 the firm was rebranded DaimlerChrysler Rail Systems, though the ADtranz name remained in common use. The company's relatively brief independent existence ended in May 2001 when Canadian transport conglomerate Bombardier Transportation completed its acquisition of ADtranz, absorbing its factories, workforce, and order book into what became one of the dominant global rail manufacturers. The Derby Litchurch Lane works continued under Bombardier until Alstom's acquisition of Bombardier's rail business in 2021 gave that French-led firm control of Britain's primary remaining rail manufacturing facility.