Automotive Exports December 2019

Kardemir begins producing train wheels
Turkish iron and steel giant Kardemir
has started producing indigenous
train wheels to prevent the use of
imports, the head of the company
said.
“Turkey will stop the import of railway
wheels in a short period. We will
produce 150,000 wheels and become
an exporter within two years,”
Hüseyin Soykan, the general manager
of the firm, told Anadolu Agency (AA).
Only 15 companies produce railway
wheels globally, which need high
technology and engineering; Kardemir
became the 16th, he underlined.
Soykan said: “A train wheel
manufactured from half-ton special
steel weighs 370 kilograms. Before
we started to produce, its cost
was around 1,000 euros [$1,112].
Currently, its cost is around 600
euros.”
He also stressed that the firm will
be able to produce 200,000 wheels
annually.
Kardemir aims to manufacture
imported products to boost the
country’s industry and economy, he
noted.
December 2019
28