The St. Margrethen location in the border triangle area is the competence centre for double-decker multiple-unit trains within the Stadler Group. After more than 20 years in Altenrhein, operations moved to the newly built plant in St. Margrethen in 2020. The site covers around 35,000 square metres of production and warehouse space, where employees currently work on the development, manufacturing and assembly of KISS trains, as well as that of trams, metre-gauge rail vehicles and passenger coaches for the Swiss and international markets. In a further 5,000 square metres of office space, departments including engineering and approval provide services for the entire group.
During the construction of the plant, special attention was paid to sustainability: 22,000 square meters of the roof were landscaped and equipped with 6,000 square meters of solar panels. The system, which is operated by the Solar St. Gallen cooperative, covers a quarter of the site’s electricity consumption.
Body detail production will still be carried out in Altenrhein. This means that the traditional location in Altenrhein will continue to exist despite the move. Claude Dornier founded the plant in 1926 as Dornier-Werke Altenrhein. In 1949, Dornier changed its name to Flug- und Fahrzeugwerke Altenrhein AG (FFA) and began building car bodies. Car body construction established itself as an important pillar of FFA’s activities. In 1987 Schindler Holding bought FFA. Car body construction remained based on the site and Schindler formed a second car body construction subsidiary, Schindler Waggon Altenrhein (SWA). In 1997, Stadler saved the plant from closure when it took over from SWA.