Railcars
The railcar leasing business in Europe represented the first diversification of the Group in the 1960s after inland waterway transport. The Group first invested in box cars within operating pools notably for the transport of coal, cement and other types of bulk cargos.

In 1986, the Group established a base in the U.S. by the purchase of a box car fleet (built in 1979 and 1981). All these cars were leased to a US private railroad company.

It was only in 1998 that the Group decided to strengthen its investments and to expand further into the railcar business with the creation of a pole specialised in the long-term leasing of intermodal flat cars in Europe.

1999 Saw the creation of a joint venture in the U.S. with a local partner already managing more than 7000 box cars.

2000 was marked by the creation of a joint venture with the Romanian Railways for the management of 10,000 intermodal railcars all over Europe.

The Group forecasts to strengthen its international presence, foresees continued expansion through both internal and external growth and plans to consolidate its image as an operating lessor of freight railcars.