What MILLET Group does

MILLET Group (legal entity Millet SAS, also marketed as Groupe Millet) is a 100% family-owned French rail freight operator founded in 1898 and headquartered in Paris. The group operates as a vertically integrated rail freight platform across five business lines: wagon and locomotive rental (Millet SAS), maintenance and repair (SDH FER at Orléans and Saint Varent), wagon construction (Millet AFR in Douai, the only wagon manufacturing plant in France), railway traction (Millet Rail and OuestRail), and full-service logistics including forwarding (RTChem in Belgium).

The operating fleet exceeds 7,700 wagons (41% petroleum/chemical, 39% cereals, 11% gas, 9% aggregates) and 17 diesel locomotives (Vossloh G1206, Vossloh DE18, BB63500), with two-thirds of wagons operating outside France. Underlying technology includes modular wagon design and in-house engineering for shorter/lighter configurations, partner-built GPS geolocation systems deployed since 2020, and a stack of European rail certifications (ECM, GMP+, ISO 9001, VPI, EN 15085, ISO 3834, SQAS, EN 14025) that collectively regulate access to dangerous-goods, chemical, feed, and passenger-adjacent rail markets.

MILLET makes money primarily through recurring rental of wagons and locomotives to European industrial shippers, supplemented by project-based wagon sales from Millet AFR, fee-for-service maintenance at SDH FER's Orléans and Saint Varent workshops, traction service fees from Millet Rail, and managed Full Service contracts that bundle provision, maintenance, traction, geolocation, and logistics optimization for industrial customers. The go-to-market is direct enterprise sales from the Paris headquarters team, targeting chemical, cereal, aggregates, and animal feed manufacturers across Europe, with no disclosed public pricing and revenue kept private under family ownership.

Name

MILLET Group

Legal name

Millet SAS

Website

https://millet-wagons.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1898

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Groupe Millet is a family-owned French rail freight group founded in 1898 that operates a vertically integrated platform of wagon and locomotive rental, maintenance, construction, traction, and full-service logistics for European industrial shippers in chemicals, cereals, gas, aggregates, and animal feed.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Rail Freight Services

NAICS

Line-Haul Railroads (482111), Railroad Rolling Stock Manufacturing (336510)

SIC

Railroads, Line-Haul Operating (4011)

akta.pro primary industry

Dry Bulk Rail Freight (Unit Trains) (TLADAKAB)

Keywords

• Rail freight services
• Wagon rental
• Locomotive rental
• Railway maintenance
• Freight logistics

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Wagon Rental: Rental of rail freight wagons including tank wagons for dangerous goods, cereal wagons, and aggregate wagons. Fleet of 7,700 wagons with 41% petroleum/chemical, 39% cereals, 11% gas, 9% aggregates.
2. Locomotive Rental: Rental of diesel locomotives including Vossloh G1206 and DE18 models
3. Wagon Maintenance: Maintenance and repair services for all types of wagons through SDH FER, the largest rail freight maintenance workshop in France near Orléans with 17 hectares including 54,000m² of covered workshops
4. Wagon Construction: Design and manufacture of rail freight wagons including bogies, hopper wagons, tank wagons for hazardous materials, intermodal wagons and special wagons through Millet AFR subsidiary
5. Railway Traction: Rail traction services through Millet Rail and Ouest Rail for convoys north of Bordeaux-Strasbourg axis, mainly for cereal production and aggregates
6. Full Service Logistics: Comprehensive transport solutions including optimization of rail flows for industrial sites supply in Europe, fleet management, wagon supply, geolocation deployment, and rail traction solutions

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

MILLET Group is a French rail freight services company that provides wagon and locomotive rental, railway traction, wagon and locomotive maintenance, wagon construction, and full-service multimodal logistics. The company operates its own fleet of approximately 6,000 wagons across France, Belgium, and Germany, serving industrial shippers with customized rail transport solutions.

Product overview

MILLET Group is a family-owned French railway freight company founded in 1898, offering an integrated suite of rail freight services through its subsidiaries. The group operates as a platform-plus-services model comprising: Millet SAS for wagon and locomotive rental (7,700+ wagons), SDH FER for maintenance and repair workshops, Millet AFR for wagon construction (France's only wagon manufacturing plant), Millet Rail for traction services, RTChem for logistics forwarding, and a Full Service offering that combines all these capabilities into comprehensive transport solutions. The product portfolio includes specialized wagons (petroleum/chemical tank wagons, gas wagons, cereal hopper wagons, aggregate wagons) and locomotives (Vossloh G1206, Vossloh DE18, BB63500) serving European industrial freight needs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 7g GHG per tonne km vs road transport 86-110g
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ENTREPId ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019European Partnership for Rail Noise Reduction created in 2019 by six rail vehicle owners from France, Belgium, Italy, and Slovakia. Project selected by CINEA (European Executive Agency for Climate, Infrastructure and Environment) for EU funding. Aims to reduce railway noise by modifying braking systems of wagon fleets. New quieter brake equipment improves train energy efficiency and environmental conditions for residents. Modification reduces wagon noise emissions by 8-12 decibels. Project modifying brakes of approximately 8,700 S-type wagons completed in December 2024. Millet now offers customers a fleet equipped with silent braking system.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Wascosa: Swiss-based Wascosa is a major European rail freight wagon lessor with comparable fleet composition including tank wagons and hopper wagons. Both companies target the same chemical and industrial shipper base across European corridors.
• VTG AG: VTG is Europe's largest rail freight wagon lessor with ~100,000+ wagons, directly competing with Millet SAS across tank wagons, hopper wagons, and intermodal equipment. Both companies offer integrated leasing with maintenance and aim at chemical, agricultural, and industrial shippers across Europe.
• Touax Rail: Touax Rail is the French rail freight wagon leasing arm of Touax, operating a significant European fleet across intermodal and commodity wagons. As a same-geography competitor, Touax Rail is highly comparable to Millet for French and Western European industrial customers.
• MRCE (Mitsui Rail Capital Europe): MRCE is one of Europe's largest locomotive leasing companies. Direct competitor to Millet's locomotive leasing arm, particularly for diesel and multi-system locomotives used by freight operators across European corridors.
• Beacon Rail Leasing: Beacon Rail Leasing is a European rail freight wagon and locomotive lessor with operations across Western and Central Europe. Direct competitor to Millet in the broader European wagon rental market with overlapping tank, hopper, and bulk wagon categories.
• ERR (European Railroad Rentals): ERR specializes in short-term European rail wagon rental with a focus on flexibility, positioning it as a comparable leasing competitor to Millet's subscription rental model across industrial freight customers.
• AAE (Ahaus Alstätter Eisenbahn): AAE is a Swiss-headquartered European rail freight wagon leasing company with a fleet spanning intermodal, bulk, and tank wagons. Direct competitor to Millet in the European wagon rental market, particularly for industrial and chemical customers.
• ELL (European Locomotive Leasing): ELL is a European locomotive leasing specialist. While Millet's locomotive fleet is smaller, both companies lease diesel and electric locomotives to rail operators and offer integrated maintenance, making ELL directly comparable on the locomotive side of Millet's business.

Broad incumbents

• GATX Corporation: GATX is the global leader in railcar leasing with a North American and European presence. While operating at much larger scale and broader geography, GATX competes directly with Millet in European tank wagon and general freight leasing.
• DB Cargo (Deutsche Bahn subsidiary): DB Cargo is the largest European rail freight operator and the dominant incumbent. While DB Cargo operates rather than leases rolling stock, its full-service offerings to industrial shippers overlap with Millet's Full Service logistics proposition, particularly in chemical and bulk cargo.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance13 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about MILLET Group