11/06/2008 15h33
Amsted Maxion diversifies production
Valor Econômico - 11/06/2008
Amsted Maxion, the biggest producer of railway wagons of the country, presents today, in the industrial condominium of the company in Hortolândia (SP), the prototype of a diesel-hydraulic locomotive applied to switching operations in railway yards. The event is symbolic of the process of productive diversification which the company has been living. The launching of the locomotive tries to reduce the dependence of the wagons production, a volatile market, and guarantee more stability to the company's business, a joint venture between Iochpe Maxion and the Arnsted Industries. The diversification effort coincides with the world financial crisis and makes the company considers strategies of growth outside the railway segment. One possibility is resuming the production of forged-steel dump boxes for off-road trucks, as it already did in the past for the mining sector. The company has also started renovating railway wagons, a segment in which it believes there is a great potential: the estimation is that there are 93 thousand wagons in the country today, with an average age of 30 years, 10 thousand of which wouldn't be in operation. At the same time, Arnsted Maxion has announced the launching of equipment for wagons in the Brazilian market. One of them is a system of intelligent monitoring developed by Arnsted. The system uses satellite communication and allows the remote monitoring of the wagon's operation. The other product launched by the company is a new device that makes the damping of the wagons in the traction and braking operations. Known as shock and traction device, the equipment cancels the leeway between wagons and reduces the strength in the connections in the train's operations. But the apple of the eyes in the strategy of diversification of the company is the DH-10 diesel-hydraulic locomotive. Arnsted Maxion's new president Ricardo Chualy says that the company's plan is to produce between 30 and 35 units of the locomotive per year from 2010 on. The prototype that will be presented to guests today will be put in operation in a railway that was not revealed by the executive. With sale value of US$ 1.5 million, the locomotive will be produced in the Hortolândia industrial complex, where the Arnsted Maxion's wagons plant has the capacity to produce 15 thousand units per year. In 2008, the production of wagons of the company should remain in 4.6 thousand units. The locomotive's prototype was produced using part of the line of wagons. According to Chuahy, the company searched potential users, developed the project, and made deals with suppliers.
