Air cushions play an indispensable role in comfortable railroad transportation. With the cushions installed between chassis and carriages, vibration transmitted to cars from wheels is effectively dampened. Sumitomo Electric’s air cushions are widely used for Japanese railroad cars, including the N700-series Shinkansen bullet train, and for other passenger cars overseas.
In China, there is a huge boom in the construction of middle and high-speed railroads connecting major cities, and the government has scheduled the construction of an approximately 16,000 km railroads by 2020. Subway lines are also expanding rapidly in large cities. Accordingly, strong demand for railroad cars has surged.
In the face of such market conditions, Sumitomo Electric was looking at ways to enhance its cost competitiveness in this field and to expand its sales networks into railroad car manufacturers in China. Meanwhile, TRI was moving ahead on the sales of vibration-proof rubber products in the Chinese market. Here, Sumitomo Electric and TRI have agreed to partner with KTK Group, which covers a great share of railroad car interior trims and display units, with wide sales networks within domestic car manufacturers.
The signing ceremony of the newly established company was held on 16 August. This joint venture was enabled by the great support of the local government of Wujin district in Jiangsu province, a growing city and one of the main hubs of railroad business in China.
The new company will manufacture and sell air cushions and vibration-proof rubber products, both used for railroad cars. We hope that these products also create synergies in the product designs and development and that further sales increase. |
