Interpipe NTRP passed Deutsche Bahn audit

Interpipe NTRP, a producer of railway wheels under the KLW brand, received certificates for its European standards, meeting German railroads’ internal demands for the company’s machine finished railway wheels. By obtaining these certificates Interpipe can supply finished railway wheels under the KLW brand to one of the largest railway operators in Europe.

Deutsche Bahn certification took place in several stages. One of the stages involved cooperating with German railroad specialists to develop measures for the improvement of steel quality. Specifically, stricter requirement were made on the structure of metal, improvements were made for the heat treatment process of wheels, new cutting conditions and cutting tools were developed, and finally changes in the technology of the thermal treatment of wheels was made.

Before wheels were sent to Deutsche Bahn for certification, they passed pre-certification endurance stress tests in the German laboratory SINCOTEC. According to the test results, it was concluded that samples not only met, but exceeded the European standards.

Michael Iskov, Director for railway wheel sales at Interpipe said: ‘German railways are one of the key consumers of railway wheels under the KLW brand in the European market. Until now we have supplied Germany with pre-treated railway wheels, which then passed finishing treatments at European mills. The Deutche Bahn certificate for the finished wheels will allow us to supply directly to German railroads and significantly expand the product range offered to the European market.’

In 2012 Interpipe plans to develop the technology for the production and certification of railway wheels from continuous casting steel.