- Stadler celebrated 10 years of operations in Utah.
- The company expanded its Salt Lake City facility, which is responsible for over 700 jobs.
- Utah Gov. Spencer Cox praised Stadler's impact and future expansion plans.
SALT LAKE CITY — It was a decade ago when Swiss rail giant Stadler launched operations in Utah, working out of a rented corner of the Utah Transit Authority's Frontrunner facility in the industrial north end of town.
Since then, Stadler has constructed and expanded its permanent 62-acre facility in Salt Lake City, which serves as the company's North American headquarters and provides over 700 jobs to the local economy.
The company on Wednesday celebrated 10 years in the Beehive State, marked by yet another expansion to the facility and a visit from Swiss President Guy Parmelin, who lauded 10 years of commitment, growth and shared success between Utah and Switzerland.
"About a decade ago, the company made a bold and forward-looking decision to establish production here in Utah in Salt Lake City," Parmelin said. "And when I look around today at the mountains, at the lake, at his breathtaking landscape, I must admit it feels a little bit like Switzerland."
Landscape parallels aside, Parmelin was adamant that the company found "a real home" in Utah.
Utah hasn't just been a place for Stadler to build trains, either, with real investments made to strengthen Utah's workforce through a partnership with the Salt Lake City School District to create the state's first youth apprenticeship program.
Launched in 2018, the program allows district students to start working as apprentices during their senior year, spending half their time taking high school classes and the other half getting paid work experience at Salt Lake City's Stadler facility.
The apprenticeship spans two more years as students earn an associate degree — fully paid for by Stadler — in advanced manufacturing at Salt Lake Community College. After receiving their degree, an interview for a full-time job at Stadler awaits.
Parmelin called the program "one of the key elements" the company has brought from Switzerland to the U.S.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox agrees wholeheartedly, too, describing Stadler as a "Utahn as any Utahn."
"We want you to make money and we expect you to give back and make this place better than you found it," Cox said. "You have done that as well as any Utah company that I can remember in our history."
Though Wednesday's event was a celebration of 10 years of Stadler in Utah, leaders from both maintained that their focus is on the next 10 years and beyond.
In 2024, UTA's board of trustees approved a $129 million contract with Stadler to acquire 20 new Stadler Citylink light rail cars, which are expected to be in service by 2028.
The agreement also includes options to purchase up to another 60 new light rail cars from Stalder in the coming years.
"The next 10 years are going to be more about expansion. We want more deals getting done. We want more trains being built," Cox said. "Stadler is reminding us that we can build again. We can build big things. We can think audaciously. We can dream big and we can build big."
