Surtees Railway Supplies

What Surtees Railway Supplies does

Surtees Railway Supplies (Pty) Ltd is a South African privately held industrial rail distributor and service provider, founded in 1950 by Arthur Surtees (formerly a Director of Reunert and Lenz) and operating from a warehouse and workshop complex at 93 Whitworth Road, Heriotdale, Johannesburg. The company supplies components and spare parts for locomotives, rail wagons, and rolling stock maintenance equipment — covering windscreen wipers, coupling hoses, compressor spares, brake valve repair kits, auto couplers, signal lamps, diesel engine components, traction motor bearings, and similar items — to railway operators and the industrial railroad sector across Southern Africa. Beyond parts distribution, Surtees runs specialized reconditioning and repair facilities for rolling stock equipment and diesel locomotives, and holds exclusive agency rights for Trackmobile bi-modal rail shunting machines in Southern Africa (since 1997) and PENN Machine driving gears and pinions.

Since May 2017, Surtees has operated as the ZTR Control Systems partner for Africa, distributing ZTR's intelligent equipment management portfolio: SmartStart Automatic Engine Start Stop (AESS), NEXSYS III-i control systems, BOA-II wheel slip and excitation systems, Locomotive Battery Saver System, KickStart, InteLevel, AxleGen, Locomotive ELC-PEO, and ZTR Railway IoT Services for remote monitoring, GPS tracking, equipment health alerts, and maintenance planning. The company is part of the broader Surtees Rail Group (alongside Rail Engineering and African Rail), is ISO 9001:2015 certified (December 2020), holds BBBEE certification, and serves enterprise customers including Transnet Freight Rail through a quote-based, direct enterprise sales model supplemented by channel and event-driven demand generation at industry conferences.

Name

Surtees Railway Supplies

Legal name

Surtees Railway Supplies (Pty) Ltd

Website

https://surtees.co.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

1950

Operating status

Operating

Short description

South African privately held industrial rail distributor founded in 1950, supplying locomotive, wagon, and rolling stock components and reconditioning services, and serving as the ZTR partner for Africa and Trackmobile agent for Southern Africa.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Railway Equipment Distribution

NAICS

Transportation Equipment and Supplies (except Motor Vehicle) Merchant Wholesalers (42386)

SIC

Railroad Equipment (3743), Wholesale-Machinery, Equipment & Supplies (5080)

akta.pro primary industry

Rail MRO Parts & Consumables Distribution (TLAKAOAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Locomotive Maintenance & Overhaul (TLAKAIAA), On-Track Maintenance Machines (OTM) & Rail Plant Equipment MRO (TLAKAIAK)

Keywords

• Railway components distribution
• Locomotive spare parts
• Rolling stock equipment
• Rail vehicle maintenance
• Locomotive modernization

Headquarters

HQ city

Johannesburg

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Railway Components and Parts Sales: Sale of components and parts for all types of locomotives and rail wagons as well as for rolling stock maintenance equipment. Products include windscreen wiper components, coupling hoses and cocks, compressor spares, brake valve repair kits, wheel turning brake shoes, auto couplers, air horns, signal lamps, and more.
2. Specialized Reconditioning and Repair Services: Specialized reconditioning and repair facilities for all types of rolling stock equipment and diesel locomotives. Company expanded facilities in 1990 with second workshop to offer these services.
3. Locomotive Modernization Solutions: Supply and installation of ZTR control systems, SmartStart, NEXSYS, and BOA systems that extend the life of a locomotive 15-20 years.
4. Trackmobile Distribution: Distribution of Trackmobile bi-modal rail shunting machines in Southern Africa.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Surtees Railway Supplies distributes locomotive and rail wagon components, spare parts, and accessories for all types of locomotives and rolling stock maintenance equipment across Southern Africa. The company also serves as the exclusive ZTR Control Systems partner for Africa, providing locomotive modernization solutions such as SmartStart AESS, NEXSYS control systems, and BOA systems, alongside Trackmobile bi-modal rail shunting machines and in-house reconditioning and repair services for rolling stock and diesel locomotives.

Product overview

Surtees Railway Supplies operates as a diversified rail equipment provider offering both technology products and spare parts. The core technology portfolio centres on ZTR Intelligent Equipment Management Solutions, a modular platform comprising intelligent starting systems (SmartStart Iie, KickStart, Battery Saver), control systems (NEXSYS III-i, BOA-II, ELC-PEO), and ZTR Railway IoT Services for remote monitoring and telematics. These are complemented by the Hercules Trackmobile bi-modal shunting machine. The spare parts division covers three main categories: Locomotive and Wagon Components, Diesel Locomotive Components, and Rail Wagon/Hopper Components. The company also holds exclusive agency for PENN Machine driving gears and pinions. The portfolio is unified by the company's role as the ZTR partner for Africa, with products and services designed to extend locomotive lifespan by 15-20 years.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Products and services can extend locomotive life by 15-20 years
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ZTR Control SystemscoreTechnology or Integration · 4 May 2017Partnership formed in May 2017 with ZTR Control Systems, making Surtees the ZTR partner for Africa. Combined, the two companies represent almost a century of experience. Surtees distributes ZTR's SmartStart AESS, NEXSYS control systems, and BOA systems. ZTR since 1987 has been an industry leader in intelligent equipment management solutions with thousands of installations worldwide.
• TrackmobilecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 1997Surtees appointed as agent for Trackmobile (bi-modal rail shunting machines) in Southern Africa in 1997. African Rail and Traction Services serves as Sub-Saharan Africa distributor for the Hercules Trackmobile. The Hercules offers hauling capacity of 18, 66 ton wagons.
• PENN MachinecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSurtees is the exclusive agent for PENN machine driving gears and pinions, which is a Transnet Freight Rail approved product.
• African Rail and Traction ServicesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAfrican Rail and Traction Services is the Sub-Saharan Africa distributor for the Hercules Trackmobile distributed by Surtees.
• North British Ltd.minorOthersHistorical connection: Founder Arthur Surtees was previously a Director of Reunert and Lenz, who were locally appointed agents for North British Ltd., a steam locomotive manufacturing company based in the United Kingdom.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Alstom: Major rolling stock manufacturer and rail services provider, including digital mobility solutions and signaling. Comparable across rail modernization and services, including into African markets where Alstom has active contracts.
• Progress Rail Services (Caterpillar): Caterpillar's rail division offering locomotives, aftermarket parts, signaling and infrastructure services worldwide. Directly comparable in locomotive MRO, parts distribution and modernization, with growing presence in emerging markets.
• Wabtec Corporation: Global rail equipment and services provider covering locomotives, freight car components, services and digital solutions across freight and transit. Overlaps with Surtees across locomotive modernization, parts and MRO, but at vastly broader scale.
• Knorr-Bremse: Global leader in rail braking systems and other rolling stock subsystems. Comparable as a Tier-1 rail component supplier with broad aftermarket/MRO exposure and increasing digital service offerings relevant to Surtees' customer base.
• Voith: Supplies drivetrain, coupling and digital rail solutions for locomotives and rail vehicles, including components used in diesel locomotive modernization — directly overlapping with Surtees' locomotive parts and modernization portfolio.

Direct peers

• Trackmobile (Marmon/ Marmon Group affiliate): Manufacturer of bi-modal railcar movers and shunting equipment whose products Surtees distributes. Directly comparable in rail yard equipment and shunting solutions, particularly as Surtees' exclusive Trackmobile agency for Southern Africa.
• L.B. Foster Company: North American provider of rail products, services and engineered solutions including rail components, trackside products and wayside monitoring — closely comparable as a diversified rail parts and services distributor with MRO exposure.
• ZTR Control Systems: Supplier of locomotive modernization, control systems and Railway IoT solutions. Surtees is ZTR's partner for Africa; both compete and collaborate in the locomotive modernization and telematics space across overlapping customer segments.

Regional players

• Transnet Engineering: South African state-owned rolling stock manufacturer, maintainer and refurbisher serving Transnet Freight Rail. Directly comparable in locomotive and rolling stock MRO across the same South African customer base.
• African Rail and Traction Services: Sub-Saharan distributor of the Hercules Trackmobile and related traction services. Comparable regional rail equipment and traction services player overlapping with Surtees' African distribution footprint.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/surtees-rail-group

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Surtees Railway Supplies