Vossloh-Kiepe

Kiepe Electric GmbH (formerly Vossloh Kiepe) is a German manufacturer of electrical traction equipment for trams, trolleybuses other road and rail transport vehicles, as well as air-conditioning and heating systems, and conveyor device components. Founded in 1906, it was known as Kiepe Elektrik until 2003, when it was renamed Vossloh Kiepe, following its acquisition by Vossloh AG. Vossloh sold the company to Knorr-Bremse in January 2017, and in May 2017 Knorr renamed it Kiepe Electric.

In 1906, Theodor Kiepe created an electric arc lamp repair workshop in Düsseldorf. Over the next 40 years the company's product range grew to include electrical switches, then electrical drum controllers and resistors for electric vehicles. By 1951, the product range included electro-pneumatic contactors, and traction motors; in 1952, the company supplied equipment for an order of 700 trolleybuses for Argentina.

Between the 1950s and 1970s Kiepe Elektrik expanded, with formation of subsidiaries both in Austria (Kiepe Bahn und Kran Electric Ges.m.b.H., 1959.), and elsewhere. In 1973, the company was acquired by ACEC of Belgium. In 1983, the company was acquired from ACEC by Alstom, then by AEG in 1993. During this time Kiepe had become a provider of electrical traction equipment for light rail vehicles.

In 1995, AEG formed Adtranz with ABB by merging their transportation divisions. As this created a duopoly of electric traction equipment manufacturers in Germany, the European Commission ruled that the Kiepe subsidiary had to be sold; in 1996, Schaltbau AG acquired the company. In the early 2000s the company expanded into the North American and Italian markets.