Rail depot equipment specialist, Mechan, is on target to double its export turnover this year.
In the last month alone, the Sheffield-based manufacturer has taken orders from as far afield as France, Taiwan and New Zealand, worth in excess of £600,000.
Mechan’s order from Bombardier in France is its first installation in the country. The firm is producing a bogie transfer system that will be installed in three stages. The initial phase is currently taking place while the plant is shut down for the summer holidays and Mechan expects to complete the project during the Christmas break, when operations are again suspended.
FEMCO, the main contractor working on Taiwan Rail Authority’s Airport Maintenance Phase One project outside Taipei, has asked Mechan to supply six sets of bogie rotators, one wheel drop system and two bogie presses for delivery in May 2011. KiwiRail in New Zealand requires four 30-tonne lifting jacks for its Hamilton depot. Mechan is familiar with the firm, having supplied jacks for its Palmerston North depot in 2000.
Richard Carr, Mechan’s managing director, said: “We are really pleased to be so far ahead of our export forecasts and confidence is high that progress will remain strong for the rest of the year. We have worked hard to establish a network of agents across Europe, the Middle East, Far East and Australasia who are spreading the word about our expanding range of depot maintenance products and this investment is now clearly paying off.”
In addition to its recent orders, Mechan is also in the process of shipping a bogie drop to Egypt for French transport infrastructure specialists, Alstom, who are working on phase one of the Cairo Metro Line Three project. Mechan’s engineers will carry out the installation in September, in advance of its launch in 2012.
Mechan will be exhibiting its range of lifting and handling equipment at rail trade fair, InnoTrans 2010, in Berlin, Germany from September 21-24 on stand 212e, hall 2.2. For further information telephone (0114) 257 0563 or visit www.mechan.co.uk.
