OREANDA-NEWS. July 14, 2011. Interpipe NTRP, the Interpipe mill which produces railway wheels under the KLW brand, has passed a certification audit by the independent certifying organization Vyzkumny Ustav Zeleznicni (VUZ, Czech Republic).

The aim of the audit was to verify the compliance of Interpipe NTRP wheel products to the European standard TSI. TSI – relates to technical demands of interoperability (technical and running coexistence) that are required for railway technology, equipment, systems and rolling stock in the European Union since 2001.

During the audit, representatives of the Czech Railway Research Institute visited the wheel rolling-mill as well as technical and quality control departments. The representatives also  verified the safety measures in the mill guarantying norms  providing for the quality and safety in the production of railway wheels.

According to the results of the audit, representatives of the independent certifying organization VUZ positively evaluated the quality management system of Interpipe NTRP, and extended the validity of the TSI certificate.

Mikhael Iskov, Director for railway wheel sales at Interpipe said: "It is not the first time that we have received  certification to the European TSI standard. Passing the certification audits is essential for Interpipe’s commercial work. During the audit the representatives were interested in nine standard types and sizes of railway wheels construction, which are now in great demand in Europe.  For that reason now we have to conduct fatigue tests of these wheels in a specialized laboratory. After that we will have another meeting with Czech experts in October - November, to show the test results and agree on the terms of supply. "