CZ LOKO has been significantly successful in the Turkish market in recent months, when it succeeded in the tender process for the supply of shunting locomotives for the Isdemir steel plant. Based on a signed contract, six EffiShunter 600 locomotives will be produced next year. These locomotives will replace obsolete Soviet and Chinese engines, reducing the consumption of operating fluids, maintenance costs and increasing operator comfort. CZ LOKO will thus follow up on the supply of 744.704 – L18 and 744.705 – L19 Diesel locomotives that were received last year by the Erdemir steel plant, which, like Isdemir, belongs to the OYAK holding.
Isdemir is located on the Mediterranean coast. The name Isdemir is derived from the nearby city of Iskenderun and the word “demir”, which translates as iron. Together with Erdemir, they are part of the OYAK holding, one of the most important industrial groups in Turkey. Isdemir is currently the largest steel plant in Turkey and plans to increase production by another 30 % by 2020. This strategy places high demands on the efficiency and reliability of logistics within the production process, which includes a large rail network. The railway siding, however, is not only used for the supply of input raw materials and shipping of finished products, but provides technological handling within the production itself. The deployed vehicles must be reliable and capable of operating under the specific conditions of the heavy industry. These include compliance with a non-standard clearance zone, ability to pass small-radius curves or work in dusty environments under extreme climatic conditions. These requirements are fully met by the EffiShunter 600 class from the CZ LOKO production, which is operated under similar conditions by, for example, Třinecké železárny.
EffiShunter 600 is a four-axle locomotive with an electric (AC/DC) power transfer. It is powered by a Caterpillar C18 Diesel engine. The nominal power, as is customary, is approximately the number in the class designation and in this case reaches 709 kW. Apart from Třinecké železárny, this locomotive class is also operated by Škoda in Mladá Boleslav, the Serbian company NIS (Naftna Industrija Srbije a.d.) and is currently being manufactured for the ČEPRO joint-stock company.
For CZ LOKO, this is not the first success in this region. In the past, it supplied the 741.708 and 741.709 locomotives to Turkey within the Marmaray project. The both serve as a backup in case of an emergency in the railway tunnel under Bosporus, which connects Europe with Asia. The current success proves that the suitably designed locomotive portfolio of CZ LOKO can succeed even in the global competition of the world’s largest locomotive manufacturers.