Two Andritz Group subsidiaries, Andritz Maerz and Schuler, will coordinate to supply a plant producing railcar wheels in Russia's Titan Valley special economic zone, near Sverdlovsk. The plant operator will be Allegro, a joint-venture of Russian steelmaker Evraz and RailService, and the project will begin in Q1 2022.
The estimated €180 million ($211 million) project will produce 200,000 train wheels annually in its initial phase, and up to 300,000/year in a planned future expansion.
Production is scheduled to start in Q4 2022.
Evraz will provide steel blanks to be heated to 1,250°C in a rotary hearth furnace supplied by Andritz Maerz, then descaled and pre-formed in a 10,000-mt hydraulic press.
Next, the formed parts will processed in a Schuler wheel-rolling machine, and finish-forged in a 5,000-mt crimping and piercing press. Finished wheels will be subjected to laser-measurement and permanent marking, and then heat-treated and surface hardened.
"We are very proud that we have won a railway wheel line again, to be supplied jointly by Andritz Maerz and Schuler," according to Heinz Autischer, head of metals processing at Andritz. "With this order, we will deliver the most advanced production line ever built in this segment and also strengthen our technology leadership in this area."