2020-21 has been a challenging year in the wake of pandemic and it is remarkable that despite hardships, Rail Wheel Factory (RWF), Bangalore is consistently creating and breaking their own records of production and achieving new milestones.
- During the year 2020-21, RWF has manufactured 1,23,678 wheels, 71,065 units of axle and 50,605 wheelsets and surpassed the Railway Board target of 1,17,700 wheels, 68,993 of axle units and 50,000 wheelsets.
- Further, RWF has supplied 50,245 wheelsets to Wagon builders, which translates to production of 12,561 Wagons, including 2.762 against NRC Wagons.
- RWF’s Inventory turn-over-ratio is 8.99% which is the best in Indian Railways.
- Revenue generated through sale of scrap is Rs. 27.14 Crore during 2020-21.
- RWF generated revenue to Indian Railways by diverting traffic from Road to Rail by loading 7653 MT wheelsets.
- Also, RWF’s indigenisation policy, a concrete step towards ‘Make in India’, has led to development of the Pouring Tube in association with M/s BHEL, which is being imported presently.
Steps to reduce cost for Wheelsets:
- RWF has taken many innovative steps including streamlining of monthly receipt of input credit of GST from SWR which has resulted in cost reduction upto 26% for RSP Wheelsets and 18% for NRC Wheelsets.
- This cost reduction will enable various Zonal Railways to improve operating ratio.
- During a recent visit, Shri Suneet Sharma, Chairman & CEO Railway Board, appreciated the progress made by RWF in the last 40 years.
- He commended RWF for maintaining world class quality and certifications necessary for a unit to export its products.
- All these were only possible by meticulous management of officers and dedicated workforce of RWF.
Achievements:
- In four decades of their existence, RWF has manufactured more than 40 lakh wheels.
- On October 21, 2020 RWF manufactured the 4 millionth wheel, which is a remarkable achievement.
- RWF has made concrete efforts to reduce the price of wheelsets, to be competitive in the global market.
- This is also a giant leap towards AatmaNirbhar Bharat and Make in India policy.
- Various green initiatives have been undertaken by RWF in environment and energy management.
- The fully functional sand reclamation plant, which is recycling used sand, is not only saving expenditure of RWF but also helping in reusing sand effectively and also conserving the natural resource.
About Rail Wheel Factory:
Rail Wheel Factory (Formerly Wheel and Axle Plant) is situated in Bangalore, India. It is a state-of-the-art plant, meeting the bulk of the requirement of wheels, axles and wheel sets for the Indian Railways. The spare capacity available is profitably utilized to meet the domestic demands for non-railway customers and exports.
- All products are subjected to stage and final inspection, starting from the chemical composition of the molten metal till the final inspection.
- This includes micro/macro properties of the material, Magnetic Particle Testing, Ultrasonic Testing, Hardness, War-page, dimensional parameters, surface finish etc.
- All their products are accompanied with a Quality Assurance Certificate.
- RWF has the full capability to design and manufacture any size of wheels, axles and wheel sets to suit individual customer’s special requirements.
- RWF Has been re-certified with the latest version of Integrated Management System (IMS) encompassing (i)Quality Management System (QMS), ISO 9001,(ii)EMS,ISO 14001 & OHSAS 18001 by M/s.ICS Mumbai during 2016.
Source: RWF-Newsletter | Image Credit: RWF
