Major rail infrastructure player Martinus Group has announced the sale of 50 per cent of the company Salix Products to Japanese steel operation Yamato Kogyo Co for $40 million.
Martinus Group will retain the remaining 50 per cent interest, with Salix to be operated as a joint venture between Martinus and Yamato after the transaction is completed.
This strategic partnership formally combines Salix’s 20 years of global turnout and trackwork delivery expertise with Yamato’s 80 years of Japanese world-class steelmaking and advanced rail manufacturing capability, establishing a powerful, globally scalable platform for turnout and trackwork solutions.
Mark Fulford, Chief Executive Officer of Salix, said the new partnership represents a major strategic milestone for Salix and for Martinus Group.
“Combining Salix’s global delivery track record with Yamato’s experience and heritage of Japanese manufacturing excellence creates a truly world-class platform for turnout and trackwork supply,” he said.
“This positions Salix to support the next generation of high-speed, heavy haul, metro and light rail projects across the world.”
Mikio Kobayashi, President of Yamato Kogyo Co., Ltd., said the company is honoured to launch this joint venture.
“The turnout and trackwork products business has been central to Yamato’s
origins and has supported railway transportation for many decades, remaining an important area for us today.
“Through this partnership, we look forward to combining our strengths to contribute to safe and reliable rail infrastructure in Australia and across the world”.
A global platform for turnout and trackwork solutions
Salix brings over two decades of specialised experience in the design, supply, quality assurance, and delivery of high-performance turnout and trackwork systems certified to EN (European), AREMA (American) and AS (Australian) standards.
Salix and Yamato jointly support the full spectrum of rail applications across government and mining-backed rail infrastructure programs, including high-speed passenger rail, heavy-haul freight rail, metro transit systems and light rail networks.
Together, Salix and Yamato turnout and trackwork solutions have been successfully supplied into major rail programs across Japan, Australia, India, the Middle East, Chile, and New Zealand.
Japanese world-class manufacturing capability
Founded in 1944, Yamato is a globally respected Japanese manufacturing group with deep expertise across high-precision steel production, turnouts and special trackwork manufacturing, rail components and fastening systems, and large-scale industrial supply chains.
Yamato’s vertically integrated manufacturing platform enables full control over quality, metallurgy, tolerances, and lifecycle performance – a critical capability for modern high-speed
and heavy-haul rail corridors.
Strategic intent – A global expansion platform
The Salix–Yamato partnership is structured to:
- Accelerate global market entry for turnout and trackwork solutions
- Deliver locally compliant manufacturing solutions for government and mining-backed rail programs
- Provide integrated engineering, manufacturing and supply chain delivery
- Support large-scale government- and mining-backed rail infrastructure programs worldwide
Together, Salix and Yamato will operate as a single unified platform for turnout and trackwork solutions across all international rail markets.
Through this partnership, Salix transitions into a globally scalable, manufacturing-backed rail products platform, offering governments, operators and mining-backed rail owners a high-confidence alternative to fragmented offshore supply models — supported by Japanese manufacturing precision and Martinus Group’s international delivery capability.
