photo: ArcelorMittal/ArcelorMittal
ArcelorMittal Poland has invested over PLN 27 m in its plant in Chorzów to produce new, innovative rail profiles that have not been available in Poland so far. As a result, Huta Królewska's customers now include companies from Belgium, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Hungary and Estonia. In addition, the company’s unit in Chorzów also acquired a mechanical marking machine for rails and a new control and measurement block.
Huta Królewska is expanding its product portfolio for the railway industry by new profiles which will be sold among others to Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. All as part of the INNOSTAL program by the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR), aimed at increasing the competitiveness and enhancing the innovation of the Polish steel industry.
Production technology of these new railway products developed in Chorzów is characterized by reduced consumption of materials used in the production process - rolls and rolling equipment. Research and development work on this technology started in 2017 and was completed in the middle of this year.
- Thanks to the installation of new equipment and automation of the rolling line in Chorzów we can constantly expand our product portfolio for the railway industry. New investments adapt our plant to the increasing requirements of customers and the production of rails in accordance with the current European standards - emphasizes Ireneusz Góral, director of ArcelorMittal Poland’s Unit in Chorzów.
As part of the project, the technology for the production of three innovative railway rails was developed which had not been previously produced in Poland or at any ArcelorMittal plant in the world. - The first rail profile (MAV48) produced under the INNOSTAL project is intended for the Hungarian railways. It has special cross-section parameters that are required on the local market - emphasizes Tomasz Zygmunt, PhD, R&D manager at ArcelorMittal Poland. The first batch of rails of this type has already found its way to Hungary.
The second profile (P50) was produced to meet the needs of the Baltic countries - Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. This project was not easy because the rails had to be manufactured according to special guidelines - the section of the rails according to the Russian standard, and production according to the European standards. The last type of rail developed under the INNOSTAL program is the rail (50E2), which will be exported to Belgium and the Netherlands.
- We are investing in our plant in Chorzów because the assortment produced here is desired on the European markets. It is for this reason that we are developing new rail profiles to meet the needs of our customers in rail industry - emphasizes Sanjay Samaddar, chairman and CEO of ArcelorMittal Poland.