A Breakthrough Contract For OVK (UWC)

OVK (UWC, United Wagon Company) has won an international tender by Deutsche Bahn to supply 80-foot Class Sggrs articulated platform wagons. OVK’s main competitors in the competition were leading companies from Europe and the USA. In total 130 cars will be supplied in the first half of 2020. Additionally DB may order another batch of flat cars from OVK. This contract represents a major breakthrough for the company's export strategy. OVK has worked successfully on a technologically challenging project to design and manufacture rolling stock that meets DB’s stringent requirements. This 1,435 mm gauge platform wagon can carry payloads of up to 108.6 t, enabling it to be used for the transport of various sizes of ISO containers, tank containers and swapbodies weighing up to 36 t each. The bogies enable an axle load of 22.5 t.

Maxim Kuzemchenko, the OVK Managing Director, commented: „Designing a wagon for Deutsche Bahn was a very ambitious objective for us. It would be possible to enter the European market offering wagons with a simpler construction for ordinary freight companies, but we decided to offer something more sophisticated, because DB sets extremely high standards for the quality of processes and implementation. Within a year, we carried out R&D work, worked on the design with our German colleagues, studied existing European standards, prepared our manufacturing facilities and personnel, and built links with international suppliers. I am confident that this project offers our company huge potential on the international market. Our capabilities to produce 20,000 freight cars annually will help European customers to cover their needs in situation where local producers are overbooked with orders. We are ready to offer all types of rolling stock for the transportation of gases, bulk and other cargos to customers around the world.“

Martin Kretschmer, Head of Procurement of Deutsche Bahn commented: „I am very pleased to welcome OVK as a new supplier for DB. We rely on strong suppliers such as OVK to help us further increase our rail freight business. We look forward to receiving first freight cars from Russia.“