The European freight wheel market is the home market of the Ukrainian industrial company Interpipe. The company supplies railway products to all European countries, and two out of three freight wagons in the European Union are equipped with Ukrainian-made wheels.
Oleksandr Harkavyi, director of Interpipe's Railway Products Division, stated this at the 2025 Exporters’ Summit, which was organized by the publication Forbes Ukraine.
However, based on its development strategy until 2032, Interpipe has set itself the goal of entering and growing in the European market of passenger wheels, the CFTS portal reports. This is no simple task, as this segment is even more technologically advanced than the freight segment. "Passenger trains travel at speeds of up to 300 kilometers per hour. If a single wheel breaks, it is difficult to predict the consequences for passengers on such a train. The wheel is a high-tech product that must meet strict safety requirements," says Harkavyi.
Each passenger train has its own wheel design, each national railway operator in Europe has its own standards in addition to the European standards, and the processes for certification by global rolling stock companies such as Siemens, Alstom, and Stadler are difficult and lengthy.
"A wheel for a specific passenger train requires the development of a separate product. This requires strong technical expertise and more qualified engineers. However, Interpipe already has successful experience supplying passenger wheels for Deutsche Bahn's high-speed trains. Unlike our competitors, we have our own steel production facilities. The company is the most efficient producer of railway products in terms of reducing CO2 emissions and carbon footprint. We face this challenge with optimism," said Harkavyi.
