EMD-CAT to Muncie IN

http://www.thestarpress.com/article/201 ... tives+here

Caterpillar has announced they will build locos at a new facility in Muncie IN. Adds 650 jobs.

Anyone here need a job? applications may begin 3 weeks!

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-201 ... 20196.html

WSJ article. Diesel-Electric tractors to come?

I wonder if Progress Rail consulted with Electro Motive first or did EMD find out about it by reading it in the newspapers?

Does this mean that all future SD70ACe's/M-2's will have CAT engines?

Does this mean that all future SD70ACe's/M-2's will have CAT engines?

Highly unlikely, IMHO. The reliability, performance and parts-sharing of the 710 have made it one of the biggest selling points of the SD70ACe/SD70M-2. The 710 is on par with the GEVO in terms of fuel consumption and emissions, and it's apparently on the way towards meeting Tier 4--so for now there is no reason to replace it. CAT engines in mainline locomotive use remain largely unproven and don't have a stellar track record--the MK5000Cs (which were all repowered with EMD engines) are a prime example.

Also, you can't just drop in a new engine into an existing design an expect it to work. Much of a locomotive is built around the prime mover, and installing a CAT engine would require other changes to the cooling system and accessories.

Steve F45 wrote:Does this mean that all future SD70ACe's/M-2's will have CAT engines?

A lot of loyal EMD-buying railroads would go running to GE if Progress/CAT did that. And I'm sure Progress/CAT is aware of that.

Many have speculated that part of the reason why they bought EMD was because they wanted the rights to the 710 design. It has a big following in the marine industry as well.

All reports I've seen don't mention EMD. I feel that Progress Rail is competing with EMD particularly in the rebuild to T2 standards. They have an order for 4 more PR 4300's from NS and they rebuilt some SD 40's with CAT 3516 T2 engines for Union Pacific to use in California. I don't think that Progress Rail or CAT or EMD have a lack of production space right now. The only thing I can think of is that Progress Rail has a transit locomotive design based on the CAT C175 engine ready to go and they can get the electrical parts from EMD like Motive Power Industries did. They could have done that without buying EMD.

As far as hiring 650 people locally is concerned, except for plant engineering all the KEY personnel will have to be transferred from where ever they are working now at Progress Rail. Trains run through Muncie, there has never been any service on any thing of that kind there so I doubt that there anybody with any railroad experience, they all have to be trained by the key personnel.

From The Star Press:

thestarpress.com wrote:MUNCIE -- An online story in a national publication reports that Progress Rail Services will employ 250 people at its Muncie railroad locomotive plant by 2012, not the 650 touted when state and local officials announced the plant last fall.

The article published Thursday in the online version of the Economist, while generally about the struggling rebirth of industrial jobs in Muncie, cited the slow growth of the Progress Rail plant in the former Westinghouse/ABB plant on the city's southwest side.

"According to a Progress Rail spokeswoman, the company currently employs 150 people in Muncie and has ditched the 650 target, expecting to reach only 250 employees by the end of 2012," the story reported.

Read more at: http://www.thestarpress.com/article/201 ... ress-Rail-

Progress Rail unveils first Muncie-built EMDs:

The Star Press wrote:MUNCIE -- State and local officials turned out Friday for the unveiling of the first two railroad locomotives built on Muncie's southwest side by local workers.

A year after the announcement that Progress Rail Services, an Alabama-based division of Caterpillar, would build railroad locomotives in the former Westinghouse/ ABB plant on Cowan Road, the company held an open house and showed off the first of its product line.
...
Joe Szabo of the Federal Railroad Administration said the Muncie plant might be among the bidders for $800 million of high-speed-rail locomotives.

Read more at: http://www.thestarpress.com/article/201 ... /110290329

I wonder why they are not remodeling or building new buildings at LaGrange? Might it be the high costs of the Chicago area? Everything could be centralized there though.

Many years ago EMD/GM demolished the assembly plant and sold off the property to ...gasp, a trucking firm. I don't think there is enough space left to build anything. I suspect that the money from the sale went into GM's pocket.

Caterpillar is certainly building its experience with the electrical side of the business. In a deal announced today, Caterpillar will remanufacture parts for windmills.

Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas has signed a 10-year deal with U.S. industrial group Caterpillar under which the American company will recondition turbine parts to boost Vestas' servicing capabilities.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/ ... V520111107
They are becoming more and more a competitor to GE.

From The London Free Press:

The London Free Press wrote:...Progress Rail was to invest in the shell of a manufacturing plant and employ as many as 650 workers by 2012.

But the hoped-for flood of new jobs has been less than overwhelming, and the company is keeping secret how many it's hired, Roysdon said.

In October, when the plant rolled out its first two locomotives for mass transit, three different public officials cited the number of employees and all three numbers were different, varying between 150 and 180.
...
In September, an employee told Roysdon that wages ranged between $12.50 and $14.50 an hour, a tough sell in a region where vanished manufacturing jobs once paid $25 and up an hour.
...
Some companies use tough times to exploit workers, he said.

"The way the times are now, when people are so desperate for work, it's tough to get a fair day's pay," he said.

One exception is found in Erie, Pa., home to Caterpillar's competitor in building locomotives, General Electric, which last year agreed to a four-year deal that pays most workers $30 an hour plus benefits.

Read more at: http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2011 ... 82971.html

$60K a year at GE Erie sounds good, but that is in US dollars. At least the Canadians get paid in a currency that might still have some value in a couple months.

Sorry to see they are playing the "how many jobs" numbers game. These overestimates are really getting to be old stuff, and erode public confidence quickly.

MX

mxdata wrote:$60K a year at GE Erie sounds good, but that is in US dollars. At least the Canadians get paid in a currency that might still have some value in a couple months.

Sorry to see they are playing the "how many jobs" numbers game. These overestimates are really getting to be old stuff, and erode public confidence quickly.

MX

Ask a Swiss union member how it feels working in a country with a very strong currency, lots of money to buy things produced elsewhere, constantly worried about a pink slip. Hardly a day goes by when you hear about another manufacturing company moving operations out because they can't compete.

From The Star Press:

The Star Press wrote:While most officials in Muncie told The Star Press last week they were only vaguely aware of the dispute involving the parent company of one of Muncie's newest industrial employers, Muncie has been all over the news in Canada, where the labor discord and Jan. 1 lockout of more than 400 workers at Caterpillar's Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) plant in London, Ontario, have prompted concern from government officials and the media.

Workers at the plant were locked out after they refused to accept 50 percent pay cuts. Several news accounts noted that the EMD workers' $30-an-hour pay rate was high compared to the $12.50 to $14.50 an hour reportedly paid at Progress Rail's Cowan Road plant. The comparison prompted some less-than-complimentary comments about Muncie.

"Muncie may be located in the United States but it is a city becoming known for its Third World wages," said the Digital Journal, a Toronto, Canada-based news website.

Read more at: http://www.thestarpress.com/article/201 ... /201080323