InnoTrans 2022 (12)

At the stand of BORCAD cz seats for the Golden-Pass Express (GPX) trains, which are due to start operation on 11 December 2022, were on display. The manufacturer from Fryčovice (near Ostrava) supplied seats for a total of 742 seating places for 19 carriages. In addition to the GENIO seats for 2nd class (478 seating places), there were also COMFORT seats for 1st class (192 seating places), as well as luxury electrically operated COMFORT VIP seats (72 seating places) for the Prestige class. The seats for the GPX thus mark another success for BORCAD cz in Switzerland after the deliveries for the RhB and MGB Glacier Express trains in 2018.

BORCAD cz also presented a newly developed variant of the EXCELLENT luxury seat, the previous model of which has already been used, for example, on FLIRT Leo Express EMUs or Velaro RUS (Sapsan) high speed trains for RZD. The new EXCELLENT NG (Next Generation) seat is electrically operated - it has four motors allowing for airline-like ergonomy adjustment, more storage compartments and optional accessories in the seat sides. In addition, a divider can be extended from the seat space for greater privacy. 

On 22 August 2022, BORCAD cz announced that, following long-term negotiations, an agreement has been reached to sell the company: the new owners will be the private equity fund groups Genesis Capital and Integral Venture Partners. The priority of the new owners is the continuity and further development of Borcad, which will be ensured both by the retention of the current management team and by the fact that the current owner of Borcad, Ivan Boruta, will continue to serve on its supervisory board. 

He said: "I founded the company in 1990 as a design studio. Gradually, we managed to build a manufacturing company with two main production divisions focused on the healthcare and railway industries. In 2016, the medical engineering division was sold and the company focused only on developing the rail engineering. We have been developing and manufacturing seats for trains since 1998, during which time we have supplied more than half a million seats to 24 countries. After more than 30 years of operation, I made the decision to offer BORCAD cz for sale last year."

This move can be seen not only as a consequence of the need to loosen up the activities of the current owner, also due to his age, but also as a reaction to the consolidation in the rolling stock seating industry that has been going on for several years: the Polish company GROWAG is owned by RECARO, the world's largest manufacturer of airline seats, the Italian company SAIRA went bankrupt and was absorbed by the Chinese company KTK, the French company Compin merged with the Spanish company Fainsa, etc. 

From this point of view, the arrival of new owners in Borcad offers the possibility of securing more capital, and therefore the possibility of further growth for the company, which now has around 250 employees.

Genesis Capital is a group of private equity funds that offer companies in Central Europe assistance in financing their growth and development. Based in Prague, it was founded in 1999 by Czech owners. Investors include international and Czech institutions and companies, such as the EBRD, the European Investment Fund (EIF), Česká spořitelna and the insurance company VIG. 

Integral Venture Partners is an international fund that operates from its centres in London, Budapest and Belgrade and manages development capital with a focus on investing in companies in Central and South Eastern Europe through the Evolving Europe Principal Investments I (EEPI I) fund.