Sustainable compressors Mattei in the CZ Loko locomotives

Posted 26 August 2021

Mattei compressors Repubblica Ceca CZ Loko compressori settore ferroviario

A key focus on energy savings and environmental sustainability in the compressors technology, combined with the continuous research for improvements in quality and performance, convinced the Czech company CZ Loko, Europe’s second largest locomotive supplier, to choose Mattei as partner.

CZ Loko accounts for more than 750 employees in Europe, most of them in the production plants in Česká Trebová and Jihlava, whilst they also have branches in both Italy and Poland. “Our collaboration with Mattei began with the modernization of the 753.7 locomotive series for our Italian customers – explains Jan Kutálek, business and purchasing director at CZ Loko – so we were looking for a local, reliable compressor supplier. We came across Mattei and since then, the growth in the collaboration has been exponential and has increasingly strengthened, as the Mattei compressors continue to prove themselves and are able to adapt perfectly to our every need”.

The common thread linking Italy and the Czech Republic is the distributor Mondo, founded in 1992 as a commercial engineering company focused on compressed air technology and air cooling. The collaboration between Mattei and Mondo dates back to 1996, as the founder of Mondo, Miloslav Dočkal, explains: “We were looking for a partner who stood out from other compressor manufacturers both in terms of originality, and also being interested in technical cooperation. Having found Mattei, today I can confidently say that we could not have met a better partner, when looking back at how far we have come together”.

The rise in the share of the European railway market started when the company showed how the quality of rotary vane technology outperformed the most common screw compressors in the sector’s applications, enabling for example the pneumatic systems to be ready to use much quicker than they would be using a screw compressor on-board.

Among the principal factors that persuaded CZ Loko to chose to rely on Mattei were also  the low operating speeds, the simplicity of design, along with the ease of maintenance. These characteristics allowed the manufacturer to design solutions to meet varying requirements: mechanically driven or using auxiliary hydraulic circuits, and especially nowadays in the field of electric motors. Last but not least: “The added-value from Mattei comes from the employees, both from a professional and personal point of view – concludes Dočkal -. That’s why we’re so happy to be able to work with the Mattei staff, who with their expertise and friendliness enriches us not only technically but also personally”.