Interpipe, a Ukrainian industrial company, has passed an audit by the Siemens corporation, a German manufacturer of railway rolling stock.
According to Interpipe, this is an important step towards the Ukrainian company’s full qualification as a Siemens supplier, the CFTS portal reports. After full qualification, the Ukrainian manufacturer will be able to directly supply wheels for the construction and maintenance of a wide range of Siemens rail transport vehicles (high-speed passenger trains, electric trains, subway cars, and locomotives) around the world.
The audit was performed in several stages. The German company studied Interpipe’s entire production technology in detail, from the manufacture of round billets at an electric steel-smelting complex and ending with the machining of railway wheels. Siemens representatives paid special attention to Interpipe's plans for de-carbonization of production.
“We were able to prove that we meet all the most stringent requirements of Siemens’ internal standards. This is an important step towards the strategic goal of the railway products division, which is to become a certified supplier of components for the locomotives and passenger rolling stock of one of the largest railcar manufacturers in Europe. Interpipe will begin working on the first direct orders from Siemens this year," said Oleksandr Harkavyi, director of Interpipe’s railway products division.
As reported earlier, Interpipe NTRP shipped a pilot batch of 840-mm EN 13262 railway wheels to Gemeentelijk Vervoerbedrijf Amsterdam (GVB), the municipal public transport operator for Amsterdam, in September. The railway wheels will be used for the refurbishment of subway cars produced by Alstom
Earlier, the Ukrainian manufacturer produced a new type of wheels for Deutsche Bahn passenger trains.
