Railways - Rail Wheel Factory, Bangaalore

Rail Wheel Factory (earlier known as Wheel and Axle Plant) is situated in Bangalore, India. It is a state-of-the-art plant, meeting bulk of the requirement of wheels, axles and wheel sets for the Indian Railways. The spare capacity available is profitably utilised to meet the domestic demands for non-railway customers and exports. RWF strives to build successful and lasting relationships with its customers by consistently exceeding their expectations. Customer focus and quality remain our watchwords. The plant is certified to ISO-9001: 2008 and ISO-14001: 2004 standards by M/s. IRQS. It is also certified to confirm to the Quality Assurance Program of Association of American Railroads (AAR) in respect of manufacture of new wheels and axles. All products are subjected to stage and final inspection, starting from the chemical composition of the molten metal till the final inspection. This includes micro/macro properties of the material, Magnetic Particle Testing, Ultrasonic Testing, Hardness, warpage, dimensional parameters, surface finish etc. All our products are accompanied with a Quality Assurance Certificate and carry a warranty of one year from shipment. RWF has the full capability to design and manufacture any size of wheels, axles and wheelsets to suit individual customer’s special requirements. Vision, Mission & Quality Policy Vision To become a renowned global leader in the Business of developing and manufacturing Cast Steel Rail Road Wheels, precision Forged Axles and immaculately assembled Wheel sets. Mission To emerge as a unique global centre for design, development and manufacturing excellence of our products through continuous improvement by upgrading our quality, relaibility, dependability and value addition in a deliberate and proactive manner. To perennially endeavor to sustain excellence in customer satisfaction by consistently exceeding their expectations. To develop our human capital by constant enhancement oftheir technical, managerial & innovative capabilities. To promote ethical business practices and values in the true spirit of corporate governance. History Till early 1980s Indian Railways was importing about 55% of requirement of wheels and axles. Indigenous capacity was available only at Tata Iron & Steel Company [TISCO] and Durgapur Steel Plant [DSP]. The TISCO plant was technocally not capable of meeting the changing requirement of wheels and axles for the new designs of rollingSTOCK and production was discontinued. DSP was only able to partially meet Indian Railways’ needs. The cost of imports was high with prices rising in the world market. Financing of imports, delays in supplies and limited availability of foreign exchange adversely affected wagon production and rolling stock maintenance. It was in this context that in the early 1970s the Railway Ministry felt the necessity for setting up a new specialized Production Unit for manufacture of rolling stock wheels and axles as import substitute. The ultimate objective was that DSP and the Rail Wheel Factory [RWF, formerly Wheel & Axle Plant] should be able to totally meet Indian Railways requirement for standard wheels and axles so that their import could be stopped. An extensive study was made of the latest technology and equipment available globally possibility of collaboration and foreign exchange requirement. Based on this study the Rail Wheel Factory project was conceived in the mid 70s with IR deciding to: Adopt the cast wheel technology developed by M/S Griffin Wheel CO., USA for wheel manufacture. American Railroads have been using cast wheels for freight operations while European Railways use forged wheels. Adoption of cast wheel technology was found more suitable as the productivity of the plant is higher and cost of production lower as compared to forged wheels. The net saving in foreign exchange on wheel imports was estimated at Rs.8 Crores per annum. Undertake axle forging on special purpose Long Forging Machine followed by heat treatment furnaces with automated conveyors for movement of axles. Provide axle-machining facilities incorporating profile copying lathes, special purpose end machining equipment and a wheel set assembly complex with integrated engineering for handling and movement of axles. The Plannning Commission sanctioned the Rail Wheel Factory Plant project in 1978 at a cost of Rs.146 Crores. Trial production commenced during 1983. Late Smt.Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India formally commissioned the plant on 15 September 1984. To reinforce the fact that we belong to the Indian Railways Family and to display our commitment to change with times, the factory was renamed as RAIL WHEEL FACTORY on 15 February 2003. Along with the new name, the factory also adopted a new corporate logo. Mile Stones   During 1999, MG locomotive axles for Diesel Locomotives to Malayasia and SriLanka were exported through IRCON/DLW. During 1995-96 and 1996-97,CH-36 cast wheels and ’F’ class axles as per AAR specifications were exported to USA. Rail Wheel Factory obtained ISO-9001 certification 1994, recertified in February 1998, for its Quality Management System for manufacture of wheels, axles and wheelsets.RWF was certified by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) fromNov’1995 to Aug’2014, as approved manufacturer of cast steel wheels and forged axles as per AAR specifications M-1003 and supply for use in North American Railroads. In June 1999, Rail Wheel Factory became the first unit on Indian Railways to acquire ISO:14001 certfication of M/s. BVQI. In keeping with the tradition of excellence, RWF once again became the first Unit on Indian Railways to achieve accreditation to ISO 9001:2008 which is the latest edition of the QMS Standard. Milestones of 2011-12  First milestone of two lakh good wheels in 2011-12 crossed on 30/03/2012.  Second milestone of one lakh finished axles in 2011-12 crossed on 30/03/2012.  Third milestone of 70,000 wheel sets in 2011-12 crossed on 30/03/2012  Fourth historic milestone of 75,000 axles forged in 2011-12 crossed on 30/03/2012.  Fifth historic milestone of 20000 good wheels in any month, achieved in March, 2012.  Sixth milestone of 3000 axles bought in any month, achieved in March 2012.  Seventh historical milestone reached on 28/03/2012 when COFMOW’s last machine was commissioned in RWF against a backlog of about 400 un-commissioned machined in IR. Milestones of 2012-13  Crucial and innovative decision to use condemned rails as alternative scrap, which prevented imminent shutdown of the plant for want of scrap.  Reduction in the annual shutdown period of wheel shop from 21days to 14days, without any compromise on safety or quality.  First time harnessing of the buried ferrous scrap accumulated over a period of time.  Safety improvements in ladles, which instilled an increased sense of confidence among the staff and helped in production of 1 extra wheel per heat.  Efforts being taken for indigenisation of high temperature lifting magnets as import substitute.  Instituting of a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to put the project of Design & Testing of Wheel on a strong footing,  As a part of Green Initiative, the Effluent Treatment Plant was rehabilitated, and the work of primary fume extraction unit for Arc Furnace ‘C’ has been awarded.  Bulk tendering for reclamation of condemned copper inserts to avoid out-of-stock situation.  Strengthening of the specifications of fused silica powder and graphite electrodes. Milestone 2013-14  Heat No.1lakh was tapped on 5th April 2013  In April 2014, RWF was re-certified by M/s. Indian Register Quality System (IRQS), with latest version of Integrated Management System (IMS) encompassing (1) Quality Management System conforming to the standards of ISO 9001:2008, for manufacture of wheels, axles and wheelsets, (2) Environment Management System to the standards of ISO 14001:2004 & (3) Occupational Health and Safety Management system to the standards of OHSAS 18001:2007, for all activities related to manufacture of Wheel, Axle & Wheel sets, support activities such as Canteen, Hospital, Kendriya Vidyalaya and maintenance infrastructure in township.