Scheidt & Bachmann

Scheidt & Bachmann is a privately held German industrial technology company headquartered in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia. Founded in 1872 by Friedrich Scheidt and Carl Bachmann, the business began as a manufacturer of steam engines and textile-production machinery before moving into railway signalling in the nineteenth century. Its early railway work established a technological direction that remains central to the company: supplying equipment and software used to control transport infrastructure, manage access, and process transactions. The company’s portfolio is organized around several connected areas of mobility and infrastructure. Its Signalling Systems business develops railway interlockings, level-crossing technology, operating and information systems, and training or simulation tools for local and long-distance rail operations. Its Fare Collection Systems business supplies public-transport ticket vending machines, fareboxes, fare gates, account-based and card-based payment systems, and the software used to administer and reconcile transport revenues. The Parking Solutions division combines barriers, pay-on-foot equipment, monitoring devices, cameras, payment technology, and parking-management software. The Energy Retail Solutions business supplies equipment and digital systems for filling stations and charging locations, including dispensers, payment terminals, advertising systems, and related management software. Scheidt & Bachmann repeatedly broadened its scope by applying control electronics, microprocessors, communications, and software to physical infrastructure. It entered multi-storey parking systems in the 1960s, adapted parking payment concepts to public-transport fare collection in the 1970s, and later expanded internationally through subsidiaries and regional operations. The company established subsidiaries in the United States and Slovakia in 1995, followed by further operations in countries including Canada, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Sweden, Spain, and Tunisia. In 2017 it began offering cloud-based solutions as improved data connectivity made remotely hosted systems more practical. Its customers and users encounter Scheidt & Bachmann technology in railway networks, metro and commuter-rail systems, car parks, public-transport networks, filling stations, and charging infrastructure. The company therefore operates primarily as a business-to-business and infrastructure supplier rather than as a consumer-facing product brand. Its value proposition is based on integrating hardware, software, payment processing, monitoring, and operational data into systems that can run continuously in regulated and safety-sensitive environments. The company has also attracted public attention through problems involving fare-collection and ticketing deployments. In the United States, a software or transaction-processing fault affecting certain railway ticket machines allowed free tickets to be issued and fraudulently resold for several years before the issue was reported in 2008. A 2012 audit of Boston’s MBTA CharlieCard system identified a major discrepancy between recorded fare revenues and the accounting system and found that parts of the ticketing infrastructure had not communicated with the authority’s accounting systems since installation. These incidents concerned specific deployments and system controls rather than the entire product portfolio, but they illustrate the operational and financial importance of reliable integration in automated fare-collection systems. Scheidt & Bachmann remains active as a diversified supplier of intelligent mobility and energy-retail technology. Its present positioning is that of a long-established systems integrator combining transport infrastructure hardware, software platforms, payment technology, and operational services for customers in multiple international markets.

Scheidt & Bachmann was established in Mönchengladbach in 1872 by Friedrich Scheidt and Carl Bachmann. Its original manufacturing activities centered on steam engines and machinery for textile production. In 1875, the company expanded into mechanical railway signalling, beginning a long-term association with rail infrastructure. Its first recorded patent, granted in 1896, concerned a mechanism for operating barriers, a technology relevant to railway crossings and controlled access. The company moved to a larger facility in Rheydt in 1914; Rheydt later became part of Mönchengladbach. In 1932, it entered the manufacture of tank systems and petrol pumps, responding to favorable market conditions in fuel infrastructure. Four years later, the business changed its legal form from an offene Handelsgesellschaft, or general partnership, into an Aktiengesellschaft, a public limited company. The main factory was almost completely destroyed during the Second World War, after which the company undertook reconstruction and resumed industrial production. During the 1950s and 1960s, Scheidt & Bachmann operated an iron foundry and produced a broad range of industrial equipment, including tank systems, compressors, gas and petrol pumps, and railway signalling devices. In 1956, it pursued a licensing arrangement with a United States company for the manufacture of oil burners. Its customers during this era included the German Federal Railway and international oil companies. In 1963, the company changed its legal form again, becoming a GmbH, or limited liability company. A major diversification occurred in 1966, when Scheidt & Bachmann began designing and manufacturing systems for multi-storey car parks. The new parking business used emerging microprocessor technology and developed a model in which barriers controlled entry and exit, customers received magnetic tickets or used payment cards, and fees were calculated at departure. Payment could be completed at self-service or staffed cashier stations. This combination of physical access control, transaction processing, and management software became an important template for later mobility systems. The company extended the same general concept to public-transport fare collection in 1970. It added systems for leisure centres in 1974 and formally established a fare-collection systems division in 1978. This progression connected the company’s earlier expertise in mechanical and railway control equipment with electronic payment, ticketing, and information systems. In 1990, it acquired Verkehrselektronik GmbH, which became its first wholly owned subsidiary. International development accelerated during the 1990s. Subsidiaries were established in the United States and Slovakia in 1995, and the company subsequently built a wider international network with operations or subsidiaries in markets including Canada, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Sweden, Spain, and Tunisia. The company’s divisions continued to broaden their offerings from stand-alone equipment toward integrated systems combining hardware, software, communications, payment, data management, and operational services. The company’s public profile was affected by issues involving American fare-collection deployments. In 2008, reports about Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North ticket machines described a defect that caused free tickets to be issued when certain debit-card transactions should have been rejected. The flaw was reportedly exploited over several years, with tickets resold for more than US$800,000. In 2012, an audit of the MBTA CharlieCard system in Boston reported a US$101.7 million discrepancy in fare revenues over five years and found that ticket machines and fareboxes had not communicated with the authority’s accounting systems since the 2005 installation. These events highlighted the dependence of automated fare systems on software reliability, payment controls, and back-office integration. Scheidt & Bachmann continued to describe its activities in terms of intelligent mobility and infrastructure solutions. In 2017, it began offering cloud-based solutions, reflecting the increasing feasibility of remotely hosted systems as communications networks became faster and more reliable. Its current business spans railway signalling, public-transport fare collection, parking management, and energy-retail equipment, including systems for charging infrastructure. The company remains a privately held, internationally operating industrial technology supplier headquartered in Mönchengladbach.

1. 2017Introduction of cloud solutions

   Scheidt & Bachmann began offering cloud-based solutions as network capacity improved.

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2. 2012MBTA CharlieCard audit

   An audit reported a substantial fare-revenue discrepancy and a lack of communication between field equipment and accounting systems.

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3. 2008Public reporting of ticket-machine fraud

   Reports described exploitation of a transaction defect in ticket machines used by two New York-area commuter railroads.

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4. 1995First subsidiaries in the United States and Slovakia

   The company began a broader phase of international subsidiary formation.

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5. 1990Acquisition of Verkehrselektronik GmbH

   Scheidt & Bachmann acquired Verkehrselektronik GmbH as its first wholly owned subsidiary.

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6. 1978Fare-collection division established

   The company created a dedicated division for fare-collection systems.

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7. 1974Entry into leisure-centre systems

   Its payment and access-control activities expanded to systems for leisure facilities.

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8. 1970Expansion into public-transport fare collection

   The company adapted its access and payment expertise for public-transport ticketing and fare collection.

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9. 1966Launch of parking-management activities

   Scheidt & Bachmann began developing systems for multi-storey car parks, including access barriers and payment equipment.

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10. 1963Conversion to a GmbH

    The company changed its legal form from an Aktiengesellschaft to a limited liability company.

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11. 1936Conversion to an Aktiengesellschaft

    The business changed from a general partnership to a public limited company.

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12. 1932Expansion into fuel equipment

    The company began manufacturing tank systems and petrol pumps.

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13. 1914Move to a larger Rheydt facility

    Scheidt & Bachmann relocated to a larger plant in Rheydt, now within Mönchengladbach.

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14. 1896First recorded patent

    The company received a patent for a device used to operate barriers.

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15. 1875Entry into railway signalling

    The company expanded from engines and textile machinery into mechanical railway signals.

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16. 1872Company founded in Mönchengladbach

    Friedrich Scheidt and Carl Bachmann established the company as an industrial manufacturer.

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A long-established industrial systems integrator for rail transport, public-transport payments, parking operations, and energy retail.

• Signalling SystemsRailway signalling

  The Signalling Systems division supplies railway infrastructure technology, including digital interlockings, level-crossing equipment, and systems supporting rail operations. Its portfolio also includes training and interlocking simulators as well as operations-management and passenger-information or operational-information systems for local and long-distance transport. The offering combines field equipment with control, monitoring, and software capabilities.

• Fare Collection SystemsPublic-transport ticketing1970

  This business provides the equipment and software used to sell, validate, collect, and account for public-transport fares. Products include account-based fare systems, fareboxes, ticket vending machines, fare gates, payment interfaces, and data-management platforms. The systems are intended to connect passenger-facing equipment with transport operators’ administrative and revenue systems.

• Ticket XPressTicket vending machines

  Ticket XPress is a series of ticket vending machines associated with Scheidt & Bachmann’s fare-collection portfolio. Such machines support the purchase and issuance of public-transport tickets and form part of a wider fare-management environment that can include payment handling, validation, gates, and back-office data processing.

• Parking SolutionsParking management1966

  Parking Solutions covers hardware and software for managed parking facilities. Hardware includes entrance and exit barriers, pay-on-foot machines, monitoring equipment, and cameras. Software supports parking-space management, car-park administration, transaction handling, and smart-payment functions. The division grew out of the company’s 1960s development of automated multi-storey car-park systems.

• Energy Retail SolutionsFuel and charging infrastructure1932

  Formerly referred to as Fuel Retail Solutions, this business supplies equipment and software for filling stations and charging locations. Its portfolio includes fuel dispensers, charging-related equipment, payment terminals, management software, and advertising systems. It extends the company’s historical involvement in tank systems and petrol pumps into digitally managed energy-retail environments.

• 2017Move toward cloud-based solutionsStrategy

  Faster and more reliable data connections made remotely hosted infrastructure and management applications more practical.

  What changed. The company began offering cloud solutions for its mobility and infrastructure activities.

  Aftermath. The move supported the company’s positioning as a supplier of connected and data-driven mobility systems.

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• 1990Acquisition of Verkehrselektronik GmbHM&A

  The company pursued organizational and technological expansion through ownership of a specialist subsidiary.

  What changed. Scheidt & Bachmann acquired Verkehrselektronik GmbH, making it the company’s first wholly owned subsidiary.

  Aftermath. The transaction preceded a broader international expansion through subsidiaries and regional operations.

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• 1970Adaptation of access and payment technology to public transportStrategy

  Experience with controlled parking access and automated fee calculation created a basis for serving transport operators.

  What changed. Scheidt & Bachmann expanded into public-transport fare-collection systems, later formalizing a dedicated division in 1978.

  Aftermath. Fare collection became a major business line encompassing ticket machines, fareboxes, gates, payment systems, and data-management software.

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• 1966Diversification into automated parking systemsStrategy

  The company sought to apply its industrial control and emerging microprocessor expertise beyond traditional railway and fuel equipment.

  What changed. It began designing and manufacturing systems for multi-storey car parks, combining barriers, ticketing, and payment functions.

  Aftermath. Parking management became one of the company’s continuing core business areas and provided concepts later adapted to public-transport fare collection.

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• 2012MBTA CharlieCard revenue and systems auditControversy

  An audit of the Boston-area CharlieCard system reported a US$101.7 million fare-revenue discrepancy over five years and found that ticket machines and fareboxes had not communicated with the MBTA accounting systems since the system’s 2005 installation.

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• 2008New York commuter-rail ticket-machine fraudControversy

  A defect in ticket machines used by the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad reportedly issued free tickets when certain debit-card transactions were declined. Three people exploited the issue for more than three years and resold tickets valued at over US$800,000.

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1. Scheidt & Bachmann
2. Scheidt & Bachmann official website