Bohumín, 18th August 2010 – The company BONATRANS GROUP a.s. of Bohumín, Czech Republic, will build a new technology for heat treatment of wheels at its premises. The company has selected Andritz MAERZ from Germany to be the supplier of the new investment, and a contract has already been concluded with the supplier.

The line, to be put in operation in 2012, will enable the biggest European supplier of railway wheels and wheelsets to expand its production capacity by more than 20%.The overall project implementation, including extensive reconstruction work, will require investment of € several tens of millions. Economic and environmental benefits are important advantages of the new line. It consumes half amount of natural gas than the existing equipment.

“Implementation of the biggest investment in the company history is a major event for development of our company,” Mr. Radim Zima, the Technical Director of BONATRANS GROUP a.s., said.

The new line with the area 4,000 sq.m. will be built at the premises of the company and it will require considerable reconstruction work. “We will release necessary area by the end of this year, and we want to start with necessary reconstruction work in February 2011. In July 2011, we plan to start installation of the equipment. Start of production is expected in April 2012,” Mr. Zima specifies the company plans.

The investment will bring considerable economic and environmental benefits, especially in terms of gas consumption, which will be about half compared with the existing technology. At the same time, hydraulic manipulators, with the danger of oil leaks during breakdowns or maintenance, will be replaced by electromechanical manipulators.

The new line will enable the company to increase the production capacity from the existing 180 thousand wheels a year to 220 thousand pieces. Transition to the new technology will be smooth, as the new and the old lines will work simultaneously for necessary time. After that, the original line from the 60s of the 20th century will be taken from operation and permanently substituted by the new line. The company does not plan for any interruption of production.