Fahrzeugtechnik Dessau

Fahrzeugtechnik Dessau (FTD) was a manufacturer of rolling stock, based in the German city of Dessau. The activities have been continued by Molinari Rail Systems since November 2016 until 2023.

In the Netherlands, Connexxion operates Protos trains built by this company on the Valleilijn.

Since May 2006, Fahrzeugtechnik Dessau had been part of the Russian conglomerate ZAO Transmashholding. After going bankrupt in March 2008, the company was able to restructure. Since December 2008, Fahrzeugtechnik Dessau had been owned by the Romanian Compania de Transport Feroviar Bucuresti S.A. (CTF). The production of Protos trains was not included in this takeover, which meant that Connexxion in the Netherlands would remain the only customer of these trains.

In March 2016, bankruptcy was filed again. No new investor was found initially and the company was closed down in summer 2016. However, Molinari Rail Systems, a subsidiary of Swiss Molinari Rail, acquired the assets later in the same year and reopened the factory in November 2016. By early 2019, the company employed a staff of 75 in Dessau, with a sales revenue of about five million Euros in 2018.

In November 2022, Molinari Rail Systems had to file for insolvency. A handover to interested successors failed, forcing Molinari Rail to announce the closure of the company. Most of the staff was dismissed in March 2023, with a skeleton crew remaining for a few months for clean-up tasks.