TURKEY: Russian manufacturer Evraz NTMK has begun delivering 2 000 of its newly-launched Type BA 002 wagon wheels to Turkish national railway TCDD.
The 920 mm diameter BA 002 wheels are made of grade ER7 steel and feature high-precision boring of the hub with tolerances measured in hundredths of a millimetre. Evraz said expanding its product range is a priority for the business, and the experience it has gained in launching the BA 002 would be used for developing other designs.
‘Production of the new wheel type is quite difficult technologically, but our engineers were able to launch it in just four months’, said Ilya Shirokobrod, Vice-President, Sales. ‘We keep expanding our product portfolio and broadening the geography of our sales’.
Evraz sees great potential in the Turkish market, with an annual demand for 25 000 wheels. Last year the company sold a total of 65 000 wheels in the 1520 region, Europe and the USA. This year the first batches of BA 004 and BA 018 wheels have been supplied to Germany.
