Timken inks JV pact with UWC to make bearings in Russia
The Timken Company has entered into an agreement with UWC, a leader in building, leasing, engineering and servicing freight cars in Russia, to establish a joint venture to manufacture Timken® AP-2 rail bearings in Russia.
The JV will advance the safety, reliability and efficiency of the local rail industry, equipping customers freight cars with premium Timken bearings. The JV is contingent upon various regulatory approvals and other commercial and customary conditions.
As part of the agreement, Timken and UWC will establish dedicated manufacturing capacity, with construction expected to start within the next several months. This JV expands upon an established relationship between the two companies, which was formalized in 2013 with a strategic partnership agreement covering technical and design support and an initial supply of Timken AP-2 bearings to UWC.
Mr. Roman Savushkin chief executive officer of UWC, based in Moscow, said “Leveraging the expertise Timken provides as a global leader in high-performance bearing design is critical to our strategy to deliver modern, high-quality freight cars to our customers in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States.”
Mr. Brian Ruel, Timken vice president for rail, off highway and light vehicle systems said “The Russian and CIS rail markets present an incredible growth opportunity for Timken as the region is rapidly modernizing its fleet to support its expanding economy.”
United Wagon Company is a leading Russian company that manufactures, operates leases, engineers and maintains modern freight cars. UWC was incorporated in 2012 to manage Tikhvin Freight Car Building Plant (Leningrad region) and RAIL1520, a rolling stock leasing company. UWC's annual production capacity is 13,000 freight cars and 30,000 car sets. The company's owned current fleet is more than 11,000 freight cars.
