9 september 2011

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visits Uralvagonzavod in Nizhny Tagil

Participants:

During his visit to the leading Russian defence enterprise, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin launched a new production line and instructed new technical regulations to be developed for railway car wheel sets.

"Now that the new production line has been launched, we must think about changes to the technical regulations for railway car wheel sets," Putin told his deputy Sergei Ivanov.

Ivanov noted that the regulations had remained unchanged for nearly 30 years and it is time to review railway security measures to meet the latest requirements.

"These technologies can ensure better safety," the deputy prime minister said. "Moreover, we should remember the economic aspects, as the new wheel sets have the advantage of having a higher capacity. I am ready to provide the necessary documents."

He added that with the introduction of the new technology, the government could oblige industry customers to only purchase equipment meeting contemporary standards and, therefore, undermine foreign manufacturers' dumping strategies.

After the new production line's launch, Putin signed the first wheel set's specification chart and item data sheet, upon request of the plant top managers.

Uralvagonzavod's partners in the project are global leaders in the industry from Germany and the Czech Republic. The plant's expected production volumes are 45,000 wheel sets per year.