Progress Rail Services to Locate Assembly Operation in Sete Lagoas, Minas Gerais, Brazil
ALBERTVILLE, Ala., July 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Progress Rail Services, a subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc., today announced the company's plans to locate a locomotive manufacturing facility in Sete Lagoas, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, to serve the South American diesel-electric locomotive market. Progress Rail has agreed to open the facility to better serve its Brazilian and South American customers, and will operate the facility through its subsidiary, MGE Equipamentos e Servicos Ferroviarios Ltda. (MGE). Progress Rail anticipates this project could create up to 600 jobs when at full capacity.
The company plans to make a significant investment to open and modernize the existing manufacturing plant in Sete Lagoas, in the state of Minas Gerais. The facility will assemble and manufacture Electro-Motive Diesel-branded locomotives in the 12,000 square meter space on a 100,000 square meter site. Electro-Motive Diesel Inc. is a subsidiary of Progress Rail Services, and a worldwide leader in locomotive technology with approximately 33,000 diesel-electric locomotives in operation globally.
"We are proud to announce the opening of this state-of-the-art facility, which will allow us to produce locomotives locally for our Brazilian customers, and also continue to provide quality products to our customers around the world," said Billy Ainsworth, president and chief executive officer of Progress Rail Services. "We believe the Sete Lagoas community, in the state of Minas Gerais and the country of Brazil, will offer our organization an exceptional location from which we will produce world-class locomotives."
About Progress Rail
Progress Rail Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc., is a leading supplier of remanufactured locomotive and railcar products and services to the railroad industry, operating one of the most extensive rail service and supply networks in North America. We serve our customers through a network of more than 150 locations across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom, with more than 4,500 employees. Progress Rail Services is headquartered in Albertville, Alabama.
Through its acquisition of Electro-Motive Diesel, Progress Rail has expanded its network of global locations, furthering its commitment to providing industry-leading products and services. Founded in 1922, Electro-Motive Diesel is an original equipment manufacturer of diesel-electric locomotives. Headquartered in LaGrange, Illinois, EMD designs, manufactures and sells diesel-electric locomotives for all commercial railroad applications and is a global provider of diesel engines for marine propulsion, offshore and land-based oil well drilling rigs, and stationary power generation. The company is the only diesel-electric locomotive manufacturer to have produced more than 72,500 engines and has the largest installed base in both North America and worldwide. EMD also has an extensive aftermarket business offering replacement parts, maintenance solutions and a range of value-added services.
For more information, visit www.progressrail.com, or www.emdiesels.com.
About Caterpillar:
For more than 85 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been making sustainable progress possible and driving positive change on every continent. With 2010 sales and revenues of $42.588 billion, Caterpillar is the world's leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. The company also is a leading services provider through Caterpillar Financial Services, Caterpillar Remanufacturing Services, Caterpillar Logistics Services and Progress Rail Services. More information is available at: http://www.caterpillar.com.
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It is important to note that Caterpillar's actual results may differ materially from those described or implied in its forward-looking statements based on a number of factors, including, but not limited to: (i) global economic conditions and economic conditions in the industries and markets Caterpillar serves; (ii) government monetary or fiscal policies and government spending on infrastructure; (iii) commodity or component price increases and/or limited availability of raw materials and component products, including steel; (iv) Caterpillar's and its customers', dealers' and suppliers' ability to access and manage liquidity; (v) political and economic risks associated with our global operations, including changes in laws, regulations or government policies, currency restrictions, restrictions on repatriation of earnings, burdensome tariffs or quotas, national and international conflict, including terrorist acts and political and economic instability or civil unrest in the countries in which Caterpillar operates; (vi) Caterpillar's and Cat Financial's ability to maintain their respective credit ratings, material increases in either company's cost of borrowing or an inability of either company to access capital markets; (vii) financial condition and credit worthiness of Cat Financial's customers; (viii) inability to realize expected benefits from acquisitions and divestitures, including the acquisition of Bucyrus International, Inc.; (ix) international trade and investment policies, such as import quotas, capital controls or tariffs; (x) the possibility that Caterpillar's introduction of Tier 4 emissions compliant machines and engines is not successful; (xi) market acceptance of Caterpillar's products and services; (xii) effects of changes in the competitive environment, which may include decreased market share, lack of acceptance of price increases, and/or negative changes to our geographic and product mix of sales; (xiii) union disputes or other employee relations issues; (xiv) Caterpillar's ability to successfully implement the Caterpillar Production System or other productivity initiatives; (xv) adverse changes in sourcing practices of our dealers or original equipment manufacturers; (xvi) compliance costs associated with environmental laws and regulations; (xvii) alleged or actual violations of trade or anti-corruption laws and regulations; (xviii) additional tax expense or exposure; (xix) currency fluctuations, particularly increases and decreases in the U.S. dollar against other currencies; (xx) failure of Caterpillar or Cat Financial to comply with financial covenants in their respective credit facilities; (xxi) increased funding obligations under our pension plans; (xxii) significant legal proceedings, claims, lawsuits or investigations; (xxiii) imposition of operational restrictions or compliance requirements if carbon emissions legislation and/or regulations are adopted; (xxiv) changes in accounting standards or adoption of new accounting standards; (xxv) adverse effects of natural disasters; and (xxvi) other factors described in more detail under "Item 1A. Risk Factors" in Part I of our Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 22, 2011 for the year ended December 31, 2010. This filing is available on our website at www.caterpillar.com/secfilings.
SOURCE Caterpillar Inc.
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