“TAS Dneprovagonmash (DVM, Kamianske, Dnipro region) will supply more than 400 freight cars (gondola cars and platform cars) to Ukrzaliznytsia and Lithuanian Railways by the end of the first half of 2025 following the results of the tenders won in November-2024, the company reports on its Facebook page.
“The company started the winter production season by signing two major contracts with Ukrzaliznytsia and Lithuanian Railways,” the company said in a statement.
DVM clarifies that gondola cars of the 12-4106 model will be manufactured for Lithuanian partners, and a new development of the plant – 40-foot platform cars for large-tonnage containers of the 13-4155 model – will be delivered to UZ.
As reported, the Lithuanian rail freight operator LTG Cargo (part of Lithuanian Railways) will purchase 200 gondola cars for bulk cargo transportation from DVM for EUR 12.7 million. The first gondola cars are expected to be delivered in February-April 2025.
For its part, according to Prozorro, on December 3, TAS Dniprovagonmash and Ukrzaliznytsia signed a contract for the supply of 252 units of 40-foot fitting platform cars by June 30, 2025, for UAH 707.011 million (including VAT).
The contract provides for a 50% advance payment within 20 calendar days from the date of invoice.
In addition to TAS Dneprovagonmash, the Research and Mechanical Plant Karpaty participated in the tender for the supply of platform cars to UZ, with a bid of UAH 589.680 million against UAH 589.176 million from DVM, for an expected purchase price of UAH 608.58 million (all excluding VAT).
According to the State Railways Administration, the new platform cars have a tare weight of 20.5 tons and a carrying capacity of 73.5 tons, which “will guarantee the transportation of maximum cargo volumes compared to analogous cars available on the market.”
In addition, the platforms will be able to run on the EU rail network.
“TAS Dneprovagonmash is controlled by the TAS financial and industrial group of businessman Serhiy Tigipko. The plant, which has the capacity to produce 9,000 railcars a year, produced 378 freight cars in 2023, down 34.5% from 2022.
In January-September, the company posted a consolidated net profit of UAH 84.08 million, up 6% compared to the same period in 2023, while consolidated net income increased by 62.8% to UAH 1.61 billion.
Continental Farmers Group is expanding its logistics capacities by forming its own fleet of grain carriers, which has already received the first 50 of 250 planned 116 cubic meter hopper cars, the company’s press service reports.
According to the report, the large-cube cars will allow the agricultural holding to maximize their carrying capacity (up to 70.5 tons) when transporting all major crops grown on Continental’s fields. According to the contract, the agricultural holding plans to receive the remaining railcars in several batches over the coming months.
According to Georg von Nolken, CEO of Continental Farmers Group, the decision to purchase its own grain wagons is the next logical step for the agricultural holding after the acquisition of two new elevators. Continental acquired the storage facilities in Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv regions in 2021 and 2024, respectively, he reminded.
“We continue to confidently implement our strategy to develop our own supply chain despite all the difficulties caused by the current situation in the country. After Continental solved the problem of elevator capacity shortage and even created the opportunity to provide services for third parties, the acquisition of the railcar fleet allows us to continue to provide logistics for our own trading and develop this area of work properly,” explained Georg von Nolken.
Continental expects that after delivery of all 250 ordered grain wagons, it will be able to cover a significant part of its annual demand for rail freight transportation with its own rolling stock. The rest, as before, will be met by outsourcing freight forwarding services.
The decision to further expand the Continental railcar fleet will depend on the level of efficiency of the chosen management model and market conditions in the coming seasons, the agricultural holding said.
Mriya Agro Holding and CFG, united under the name Continental Farmers Group, have been operating as a single business since November 2018, when Mriya entered into an agreement with international investor Salic UK to sell its assets.
Salic was founded in 2012. Its sole shareholder is the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, which invests in agricultural and livestock production.
Cyprus T.A.S. Overseas Investments Limited from Sergiy Tigipko’s TAS Group intends to acquire over 25% in Austrian TransAnt GmbH (Linz), a joint venture (JV) established by Austrian ÖBB Rail Cargo Group and voestalpine Stahl GmbH to produce innovative and cost-effective railway freight cars.
According to a message of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) on its website, the agency has already provided T.A.S. Overseas Investments Limited with appropriate authorization based on its application and applications from TransAnt and voestalpine Stahl.
In addition, the Cypriot Competition Authority also announced that it had received a notification in connection with the proposed acquisition by TAS Overseas Investments Limited of a share in a charter capital of TransAnt GmbH on January 24 this year.
TransAnt GmbH is a joint venture established at the end of 2020 between Rail Cargo Austria Aktiengesellschaft and voestalpine Stahl GmbH with the aim of operating in the rail freight sector. At this stage, TransAnt is not engaged in commercial activities. However, after the completion of this transaction, it is expected to be actively engaged in production, development, supply, sale and lease of “flex” wagons and superstructures for the transport of goods in the industrial sector.
Rail Cargo Group originally announced plans for parity ownership in the JV with voestalpine, but currently holds a 19.8% share, according to the Austrian register, while voestalpine holds 80.2%.
In this regard, the AMCU classifies TransAnt GmbH and voestalpine Stahl GmbH and their related companies as a single business entity – VAS Group. It is a global steel and technology group operating in the automotive, consumer, aerospace, oil and gas, and rail industries, which is listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange and has no ultimate beneficial owners.
TAS Group was founded in 1998 by businessman Sergiy Tigipko. Its business interests cover the financial sector (banking and insurance segments) and pharmacy, as well as industry, real estate, and venture projects.
