Press release from the State of Indiana announcing that Progress Rail Services will be setting up a new plant in Muncie Indiana:
Locomotive Maker to Locate Assembly Operation in Muncie
(MUNCIE, Ind – October 29, 2010) – In the fourth announcement of its kind this week, Governor Mitch Daniels joined executives from rail industry supplier, Progress Rail Services, a subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc., today to announce the company’s plans to locate a locomotive manufacturing facility in Muncie to serve the diesel-electric locomotive market and position the company to participate in future transit rail projects. Progress Rail, which will operate the facility through a new subsidiary, anticipates this project could create up to 650 new jobs by 2012.
The company plans to invest approximately $50 million to open the first locomotive assembly plant in the United States in many years. Progress Rail will launch assembly and manufacturing in the 740,000 square-foot facility formerly occupied by ABB Power T and D Co., which closed in 1998. In addition, the company plans to build a locomotive test track on the facility’s 75-acre campus.
Today’s news from Progress Rail brings total jobs announced for Indiana this week to 2,000. Earlier today Ascension Health said it would locate a professional service center in Indianapolis and create 500 new professional jobs. On Tuesday ExactTarget announced plans to add 500 jobs in Indianapolis and Cummins said it would expand its Columbus headquarters by hiring an additional 350 associates.
“Weeks like this remind us that Indiana is a leader in private sector jobs creation because we’ve built the best sandbox for business. I can’t think of a better way to cap off the week – a major investment from a company that is a recognized leader in one of America’s great industries and hundreds of new jobs moving into a building that has long been vacant,” said Daniels.
Founded in 1983, Progress Rail Services manufactures, repairs and refurbishes freight cars, locomotives and rail track for Class 1, short-line and transit railroad companies as well as private car owners. In addition, the company oversees the reclamation of used rail, wrecked or retired railcars and locomotives and other scrap metal.
“We are pleased to announce the opening of this state-of-the-art facility that will allow us to better serve our customers,” said Billy Ainsworth, president and chief executive officer of Progress Rail Services. “We believe the Muncie community and the state of Indiana will offer our organization an outstanding location from which we will produce world-class products.”
The company has more than 130 operating facilities throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom. In August, Progress Rail acquired Electro-Motive Diesel, expanding its network of global locations, products and services.
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered Progress Rail Services up to $3.5 million in performance-based tax credits and up to $1 million in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans. In addition, the IEDC will provide the city of Muncie with up to $1 million in infrastructure assistance from the state’s Industrial Development Grant Fund. The state will assist the company in applying for a $1 million federal Community Development Block Grant. Delaware County will consider a tax abatement, community revitalization enhancement district and tax increment financing request valued at approximately $22.5 million at the request of the Muncie-Delaware County Economic Development Alliance.
“Progress Rail is the type of modern, advanced manufacturing company that every community desires. It not only provides excellent, high quality jobs but it opens opportunities for our existing businesses as well. This is fantastic news for our community,” said Todd Donati, president of the Delaware County commissioners.
Progress Rail Services’ decision to locate a new manufacturing facility in the Hoosier State comes just weeks after Area Development magazine named Indiana the top state in the Midwest and sixth best in the nation for business, according to a survey of national site selection consultants.
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 130 locations across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom, with more than 4,300 employees. Progress Rail Services is headquartered in Albertville, Alabama. For more information, visit www.progressrail.com.About Caterpillar
For more than 85 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been making progress possible and driving positive and sustainable change on every continent. With 2009 sales and revenues of $32.396 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 https://www.cat.com/.About IEDC
Created by Governor Mitch Daniels in 2005 to replace the former Department of Commerce, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation is governed by a 12-member board chaired by Governor Daniels. Mitch Roob serves as the chief executive officer of the IEDC. For more information about IEDC, visit www.iedc.in.gov.Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release relate to future events and expectations and, as such, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are subject to known and unknown factors that may cause actual results of Caterpillar Inc. to be different from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Words such as “believe,” “estimate,” “will be,” “will,” “would,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “project,” “intend,” “could,” “should” or other similar words or expressions often identify forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation,statements regarding our outlook, projections, forecasts or trend descriptions. These statements do not guarantee future performance, and Caterpillar does not undertake to update its forward-looking statements. It is important to note that actual results of the company may differ materially from those described or implied in such forward-looking statements based on a number of factors, including, but not limited to: (i) economic volatility in the global economy generally and in capital and credit markets; (ii) Caterpillar’s ability to generate cash from operations, secure external funding for operations and manage liquidity needs; (iii) adverse changes in the economic conditions of the industries or markets Caterpillar serves; (iv) government regulations or policies, including those affecting interest rates, liquidity, access to capital and government spending on infrastructure development; (v) commodity price increases and/or limited availability of raw materials and component products, including steel; (vi) compliance costs associated with environmental laws and regulations; (vii) 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; (viii) financial condition and credit worthiness of Cat Financial’s customers; (ix) material adverse changes in our customers’ access to liquidity and capital; (x) market acceptance of Caterpillar’s products and services; (xi) 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; (xii) Caterpillar’s ability to successfully implement Caterpillar Production System or other productivity initiatives; (xiii) international trade and investment policies, such as import quotas, capital controls or tariffs; (xiv) failure of Caterpillar or Cat Financial to comply with financial covenants in their respective credit facilities; (xv) adverse changes in sourcing practices for our dealers or original equipment manufacturers; (xvi) additional tax expense or exposure; (xvii) 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 civilunrest in the countries in which Caterpillar operates; (xviii) currency fluctuations, particularly increases and decreases in the U.S. dollar against other currencies; (xix) increased payment obligations under our pension plans; (xx) inability to successfully integrate and realize expected benefits from acquisitions; (xxi) significant legal proceedings, claims, lawsuits or investigations; (xxii) imposition of significant costs or restrictions due to the enactment and implementation of health care reform legislation and proposed financial regulation legislation; (xxiii) changes in accounting standards or adoption of new accounting standards; (xxiv) adverse effects of natural disasters; and (xxv) 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 19, 2010 for the year ended December 31, 2009 and in Part II of our Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on May 3, 2010 for the quarter ended March 31, 2010. These filings are available on our website at www.cat.com/sec_filings.
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