Sumitomo Metals and Sumitomo Corp inks railway wheels deal

Monday, 29 Jun 2009

Sumitomo Metal Industries Limited and Sumitomo Corporation have signed a 3 year contract to supply high speed railway wheels to Deutsche Bahn AG. The wheels will be used for the Inter City Express, DB's high speed train. This is the first long term contract that Sumitomo Metals and Sumitomo Corporation have concluded for supply of this type of wheel in Europe.

Test runs of Sumitomo Metals' high speed railway wheels for ICE cars have been conducted since 2003. As the wheels have been highly acclaimed for their abrasion resistance and other qualities, Sumitomo Metals entered the market on a full scale on this occasion by concluding a contract to supply the wheels over the next three years.

In addition to various Shinkansen lines in Japan, Sumitomo Metals supplies high speed railway wheels in Taiwan and China. With progress in modal shift caused by global environmental problems, the US, Brazil, Vietnam, India and some other countries are planning to build high speed railways.

Sumitomo Metals' railway wheels have been acclaimed not only in Japan but overseas. In addition to the current mainstay products of freight car wheels for North American market, the Company will make aggressive efforts to grow sales of high-speed railway wheel in overseas markets.