VAE, a company of the voestalpine Group and the global market leader in turnout technology, has been supplying the Iranian State Railways and Metro administrations for forty years.
VAE, a company of the voestalpine Group and the global market leader in turnout technology, has been supplying the Iranian State Railways and Metro administrations for forty years. During these four decades of ongoing business relations, the company has been supplying several thousand switches and replacement parts to Iran. The trains of the Tehran Metro run over VAE switches – and also on track made by voestalpine. Following initial deliveries of 428 switches, further orders were won. As part of the fulfillment of the current order for switches which are needed for extending the system, one group of switches was urgently needed for logistical reasons. Instead of following the normal dispatch route, using rail to transport the switches to the port and loading them onto a ship, it was agreed to ship them by air in order to deliver them just in time to the place where they were to be installed. Never before VAE has delivered switches in this manner.
After completion by the manufacturer, VAE Eisenbahnsysteme GmbH, located in Zeltweg, the equipment was initially loaded onto three trucks and transportet by heavy load to Schwechat Airport. At the airport, the switch components were loaded into an airplane provided by Metro Tehran. The group of switches consists of three sets of points with a total weight of 50 tons. To speed up installation, core parts of the switches were supplied pre-assembled. The socalled switch blade operating devices – partially pre-installed on sleepers – have a total length of almost 28 metres and are supplied as one single part. ‘For many decades, the Iranian customers have been appreciative of the high quality and the excellent technology of our switches. This forms the basis for our relationships with these customers, which are important to us and which have been built up over many years’, commented Marc Kaddoura, Managing Director of VAE GmbH.
voestalpine is a globally active group with a number of specialized and flexible companies that produce, process and further develop high-quality steel products. The Group is represented by 360 production and sales companies in more than 60 countries. With its highest quality flat steel products, voestalpine is one of Europe's leading partners to the automotive, white goods, and energy industries. Furthermore, voestalpine is the world market leader in turnout technology, tool steel, and special sections, as well as number one in Europe in the production of rails. In the business year 2010/11, the voestalpine Group generated revenues of around EUR 11 billion, and achieved an operating result (EBIT) of almost EUR 1 billion; the Group has around 47,000 employees worldwide.
