By Kim Da-ye
Hyundai Rotem, a heavy industry affiliate of the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, signed a $400 million deal Tuesday in Ankara, Turkey, to provide electric locomotives to the Turkish State Railways Administration (TCDD), the company announced.
Manufacturing locomotives since 1979, Hyundai Rotem has produced and exported diesel locomotives many times, but the Tuesday deal marks the firm’s first export of electric locomotives.
At the signing ceremony, Lee Yeo-sung, vice chairman and CEO of Hyundai Rotem, said, “The electric locomotive not only minimizes pollution and maximizes environmental friendliness, but, compared to its diesel counterpart, is more economical, emits fewer greenhouse gases and, importantly, makes less noise.
“We appreciate the trust and continuous orders of TCDD, and will provide high quality vehicles and full compliance with delivery as we have been doing for TCDD in return.”
Suleyman Karaman, the managing director of TDCC, said that the railway administration and Hyundai Rotem are as close as brothers and is open to the possibility of importing Korea’s high-speed trains when Turkey’s high-speed train project begins in 2011.
Hyundai Rotem said it will produce electric locomotives at the local manufacturing plant in Tulomsas, Turkey and deliver them by the end of 2014.
Lee signed a deal on Dec. 16 to provide high-speed trains to Ukraine, visiting the nation’s President Viktor Yanukovych. Lee immediately flew to Turkey, to land the TCDD contract. In December alone, Hyundai Rotem has succeeded in signing deals worth 800 billion won.
Hyundai Rotem said, “Vice Chairman Lee continues his active marketing campaign including negotiating to export Korea’s high-speed trains to Turkey.”
A Hyundai Rotem official said in a statement, “We competed against Canadian Bombardier, Italian Ansaldo Breda and fast-growing Chinese rolling stock manufacturers, and won the international bid for the electric locomotive project with our eco-friendly and high energy efficiency technology.”
The electric locomotive that Hyundai Rotem will supply to TCDD is the high technology rolling stock which is similar to Electric Multiple Unit in terms of its driving system, but requires over 5,000 KW in large output, the official added.
Since 2000, the Hyundai affiliate has supplied Turkey with about 800 units of rolling stock for seven projects including subway trains, light rail vehicles and multiple diesel units. In 2006, the firm launched Hyundai Eurotem, a manufacturing plant in Turkey, to firm up its leading position in Turkey’s railway industry.