Ermewa
Ermewa is a European rail freight wagon lessor and ECM-certified maintenance provider, renting a 50,000+ wagon fleet to industrial shippers, railway operators, and logistics providers across 18 offices in 14 countries under the Streem Group.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1956
- HeadquartersLevallois-perret, France
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Ermewa does
Ermewa is a European rail freight wagon lessor and maintenance provider headquartered in Levallois-Perret, France, and operating as the wagon-rental arm of Streem Group. Founded in Switzerland in 1956, the company has assembled a fleet of more than 50,000 freight railcars spanning roughly 120 wagon types, and serves industrial shippers, railway operators, and logistics providers through 18 offices in 14 European countries. Its commercial model is asset-light for customers: Ermewa purchases, owns, and maintains the wagons, then rents them on recurring contracts, while bundling ECM-certified maintenance, refurbishment, and fleet modernisation services.
Technically, the fleet is differentiated by the proprietary Safety++ programme (anti-override systems, reinforced shields, corrosion protection, GPS beacons) and a portfolio of R&D projects including a lighter wagon, Digital Automatic Coupling (DAC), and an LPG Safety++ gas wagon developed with Greenbrier, Knorr-Bremse, and ADS. Ermewa performs over 6,100 maintenance operations per year and refurbishes more than 700 wagons annually, extending wagon life by at least ten years. The customer base spans steel, aggregates and worksites, chemistry, intermodal, oil, gas, automotive, grain, palletised goods, energy, wood, and sugar verticals, with disclosed clients including Mercitalia Logistics, DB Fahrwegdienste, Lineas, and Rail Cargo Logistics.
Ermewa generates revenue through recurring railcar lease contracts and professional maintenance services. Since 2021 the company has been wholly owned by DWS and CDPQ following their acquisition from SNCF, and the parent was rebranded from Ermewa Group to Streem in 2023. Reported FY2025 revenue was €329.4M.
Ermewa firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Ermewa
- Legal name
- Ermewa SA
- Website
- https://ermewa.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1956
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Ermewa is a European rail freight wagon lessor and ECM-certified maintenance provider, renting a 50,000+ wagon fleet to industrial shippers, railway operators, and logistics providers across 18 offices in 14 countries under the Streem Group.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Ermewa industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Rail Freight Wagon Leasing
- NAICS
- Commercial Air, Rail, and Water Transportation Equipment Rental and Leasing (532411)
- SIC
- Railroad Equipment (3743)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Freight Wagon (Railcar) Maintenance & Repair (TLAKAIAB)
Keywords
Where Ermewa is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Levallois-perret
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices4 records
Markets served
Ermewa business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Railcar Leasing: Core business of renting freight railcars to industrial companies, railway operators, and logistics providers across Europe. Rental solutions support customer competitiveness with asset-light business models.
- Maintenance Services: ECM-certified maintenance services for rail fleet, including predictive maintenance, mobile maintenance, and network of certified workshops. Over 6,100 maintenance operations performed annually.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Ermewa product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Ermewa rents freight railcars (wagons) to industrial companies, railway operators, and logistics providers across Europe, offering 120+ wagon types across sectors including steel, chemistry, gas, oil, grain, aggregates, automotive, and intermodal. The leasing offering is complemented by ECM-certified maintenance services, including predictive maintenance, mobile maintenance, and a network of certified workshops, plus wagon refurbishment that extends asset life by 10+ years.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Railcar Leasing (Wagon Rental) Long-term and short-term rental of 120+ types of freight railcars (50,000+ fleet) to industrial companies, railway operators, and logistics providers across Europe. Asset-light model allows customers to avoid capital expenditure on railcar ownership while supporting competitiveness.
- ECM-Certified Maintenance Services Rail fleet maintenance services including predictive maintenance, mobile maintenance, and a network of certified workshops. Over 6,100 maintenance operations are performed annually under ECM certification.
- Chlorine Wagon Safety+ Specialized chlorine transport railcar co-developed with Greenbrier, equipped with Knorr-Bremse braking systems and ADS-supplied GPS telemetry, designed for safe transport of hazardous chemicals.
- Intermodal Wagons (102 new units for Mercitalia Logistics)
- Grain Wagons (200 new 95m3 units for Rail Cargo Logistics)
- Safety++ Wagon Program
Quantifiable outcome
- 95-99% of wagon components are recyclable
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Ermewa
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments12 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Ermewa technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Ermewa partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- DB Fahrwegdienste GmbHcoreLeasing state-of-the-art wagons for Riedbahn modernisation project, supporting German railway infrastructure.
- Mercitalia Logistics (Gruppo FS Italiane)coreLong-term lease agreement for 102 new intermodal wagons, strengthening cooperation between Ermewa and Mercitalia Logistics.
- InvehocoreInnovation partnership M4.0 with Inveho and Railenium for Maintenance 4.0 and digitalization projects.
- RaileniumminorInnovation partnership for R&D projects in rail freight, part of M4.0 maintenance innovation project.
- Rail Cargo LogisticscoreDelivery of 200 brand new 95m3 grain wagons, supporting agricultural logistics operations.
- LineascoreSale-and-leaseback agreement for 4,000 wagons with Lineas, strengthening long-term relationship.
- Roche BoboisminorPartnership for circular economy - furniture made from recycled wagon floorboards.
- T3MminorJoint collaboration for approval of new brake shoes, testing and certification partnership.
- GreenbriercorePartnership for development of chlorine wagon Safety+ designed with Greenbrier. Technical collaboration on wagon design and safety features.
- Express GroupminorAcquisition of 127 coil wagons from Express Group fleet.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Ermewa competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- VTG AG: VTG is Europe's largest private rail freight wagon lessor, headquartered in Hamburg, with a comparable fleet of railcars for chemicals, oil, intermodal and more. Ermewa and VTG compete head-to-head for the same enterprise customers across continental Europe.
- GATX Corporation: GATX is one of the world's largest railcar leasing companies, with a meaningful European franchise offering tank, freight, and specialty railcars. It competes directly with Ermewa for cross-border European lessor customers.
- Akiem: Akiem is a French rolling-stock lessor (locomotives and wagons) operating across Europe with private-equity backing. It directly overlaps Ermewa's wagon-railcar leasing business in continental Europe, with similar customer segments.
- Wascosa: Wascosa is a Swiss-headquartered rail freight wagon lessor serving European customers across chemicals, gas, and intermodal segments. It is a close comparable in scale, geography, and product mix to Ermewa.
- Beacon Rail Leasing: Beacon Rail is a European rolling stock lessor providing freight wagons and locomotives to operators and industrial shippers. It competes with Ermewa in the same wagon categories and European geographies.
- Mitsui Rail Capital Europe (MRCE): MRCE is a locomotive and rolling-stock lessor jointly owned by Mitsui and Japanese partners, with a European-wide customer base. While heavier in locomotives, it competes for the same enterprise customer relationships and rail-leasing wallets.
- Touax Rail: Touax is a French equipment lessor with a dedicated rail freight wagon leasing business. It directly competes with Ermewa for European railcar leasing customers, particularly in France and Benelux.
Broad incumbents
- Greenbrier Companies: Greenbrier is a large North-American rail equipment manufacturer and lessor that also designs specialty wagons in Europe (including co-development with Ermewa on Safety+). It is a partial competitor in leasing plus a key supplier partner.
- Trinity Industries Inc. Trinity Industries is a major US railcar manufacturer and lessor (TrinityRail Leasing). It is a broad incumbent in the global railcar leasing industry with a meaningful North America franchise and comparable product set to Ermewa's European fleet.
Others
- Raffles Lease: Raffles Lease is a sister brand under Streem Group (Ermewa's parent) focused on railcar leasing adjacent to Ermewa. It is a corporate sibling rather than a direct competitor, but represents the broader Streem leasing portfolio.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Ermewa social profiles
Digital presenceErmewa financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Ermewa leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Ermewa funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Ermewa M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Ermewa
What does Ermewa do?
Ermewa rents freight railcars (wagons) to industrial companies, railway operators, and logistics providers across Europe, offering 120+ wagon types across sectors including steel, chemistry, gas, oil, grain, aggregates, automotive, and intermodal. The leasing offering is complemented by ECM-certified maintenance services, including predictive maintenance, mobile maintenance, and a network of certified workshops, plus wagon refurbishment that extends asset life by 10+ years.
Is Ermewa a public or private company?
Ermewa is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Ermewa founded?
Ermewa was founded in 1956. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Ermewa based?
Ermewa is headquartered in Levallois-perret, France, in the Europe region.
How does Ermewa make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Railcar Leasing is the primary driver. The others are maintenance Services.
Who are Ermewa's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are VTG AG, GATX Corporation, Akiem, Wascosa, Beacon Rail Leasing, Mitsui Rail Capital Europe (MRCE) and Touax Rail. Broad incumbents are Greenbrier Companies and Trinity Industries Inc.. Raffles Lease is listed as an others.
Does Ermewa have an API?
No public API is recorded for Ermewa.
What industry is Ermewa in?
Ermewa's product category is Rail Freight Wagon Leasing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is TLAKAIAB, Freight Wagon (Railcar) Maintenance & Repair. Its NAICS code is 532411 and its SIC code is 3743.