Hübner acquires Dutch chassis specialist VSE

Kassel, Germany – German rail and bus components manufacturer Huebner Group has acquired Dutch chassis specialist Vehicle Systems Engineering (VSE) in a bid to strengthen its expertise in ‘street-based vehicles’.

The acquisition is part Huebner’s strategy to expand its product portfolio for buses and rail vehicles beyond its traditional gangway systems and elastomer sealing systems for doors and windows, the group announced 5 May.

Based in Veenendaal, in central Netherlands, VSE specialises in the development and production of electrohydraulic steering and suspension systems for the vehicle industry. 

The systems are used particularly to equip vehicles so that they can navigate difficult terrains. 

According to Huebner, more than 50,000 vehicles in Europe were equipped with components from VSE in recent years. 

The company, which employs more than 50 software and technology specialists, reported sales of €14 million.

"Our aim is to achieve a leading position in the market for sophisticated chassis solutions for commercial vehicles, buses and railway vehicles," said Huebner general manager Helge Foerster, responsible for the mobility business sector. 

Hebner is already active in this segment via its "Hemscheidt Fahrwerktechnik" subsidiary, which develops and produces chassis systems at two locations in Haan and in Feucht, in Germany. 

With the VSE acquisition, Huebner said it aims to advance software development for steering systems. 

"We are seeing that the bus industry has increasingly demanding expectations regarding chassis and steering systems," explained Mark Wöhrmann, managing director of Hemscheidt Fahrwerktechnik and head of the Huebner business unit chassis technology. 

With VSE, he went on to say, the group expects to develop “a technological edge” in the area of hydropneumatics and expand that with steering systems.