Wikov: From gearbox maker to European player (2. strana)

11 rail transport l transmission Over the last 15 years, Wikov has developed from an occasional manufacturer of gearboxes for rail vehicles to a key player of European importance with IRIS certification. The company is also very proud to have done so through their own production of key components in the Czech Republic and not through sourcing products from branches in Eastern Europe or China. Hard, systematic, and longterm specialised work has borne fruit in the form of a several-fold increase in the numbers and turnover of gearboxes produced per year and the expansion of the product portfolio to cover virtually all types of rolling stock. Acquisitions and meeting the local content requirements d The main acquisition in recent years in Wikov was undoubtedly the takeover of the German manufacturer of gearboxes for rail vehicles, Gmeinder Getriebe Gruppe. The acquisition of the German competitor resulted in an expansion of the product portfolio, especially for special rail vehicles, locomotives and DMU diesel units. Gmeinder also has very valuable experience and capacity in the area of repairs and modernisation of gearboxes for rail vehicles. Wikov is also considering other forms of acquisition activities. There are more and more countries that require the placement of part of production in their territory within the framework of large and key orders for rolling stock. The gearbox is not exactly a crucial component in those requirements, but frequently this request cannot be avoided, especially where the percentage of components that must be manufactured locally is slowly and steadily increasing. For example, in the spring of last year, Wikov began assembling gearboxes for the Russian market in Tvera, Russia, in a joint venture with the Russian PKTS customer with a capacity of at least 1,000 gearboxes per year. Another significant achievement is the WiKorea project, the main objective of which is to assemble gearboxes for the Seoul metro directly in South Korea. Although the project was suspended for a while due to the COVID pandemic, activities resumed in June 2020, despite bureaucratic problems. Trams d Today, Wikov has a market-proven complete range of gearboxes and drives for low-floor trams, both for bogies with axles or with freely rotating wheels, with power outputs per gearbox from 60 to 180 kW. The market for low-floor trams is specific in that it is still relatively new, although the first tram came into operation in the early 1990s. 30 years may seem like a long time, but full-scale low-floor trams were not used more substantially outside Western Europe until around 2012. That this is a new market is also shown by the fact that there is still a large number of tram manufacturers in the world compared to manufacturers of metro units. Gradually, however, the situation is being consolidated, which brings temporary uncertainty to the component supply chain. This is clearly visible from the gearbox and drive supplier point of view. With regard to drive solutions, currently, there are 4 groups of chassis types used in the world . The first uses a classic axle which provides a transverse mechanical connection between the wheels; the second group are bogies without an axle, but still with a transverse mechanical connection of the wheels, thanks to a special continued a PRODUCT PORTFOLIO www.technikaatrh.cz