| Type | Private (subsidiary of Progress Rail Services Corporation) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Railroad Power Generation |
| Predecessor | Electro-Motive Division of General Motors Corporation |
| Founded | Cleveland, Ohio, United States (August 31, 1922) |
| Founder(s) | Harold L. Hamilton Paul Turner |
| Headquarters | La Grange, Illinois, United States of America |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Locomotives Diesel engines OEM parts |
| Services | Locomotive maintenance Locomotive management Training |
| Employees | 3260 (2008) |
| Parent | Progress Rail Services Corporation |
| Website | emdiesels.com |
Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc., also referred to as "EMD", is a wholly owned subsidiary of Progress Rail Services Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc., that designs, manufactures and sells diesel-electric locomotives and diesel power engines worldwide under the Electro-Motive Diesel brand.[1] EMD has the world's largest installed base of diesel-electric locomotives and offers the world's most extensive range of locomotive products in the rail and transit industry.[2] EMD holds approximately 30 percent of the market for diesel-electric locomotives in North America, second to its only competitor, GE Transportation Systems, which holds the remaining 70 percent share of the North American market.[3]
Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc. traces its roots to the Electro-Motive Engineering Corporation, founded in 1922. In 1930, General Motors Corporation purchased the Winton Engine Co. and Winton's primary customer of gasoline engines, Electro-Motive Corporation (a gasoline-electric car manufacturer),[4] combining the two to form GM's Electro-Motive Division (EMD) on January 1, 1941.[5] In 2005, GM sold EMD to Greenbriar Equity Group LLC, Berkshire Partners LLC and certain related parties, which formed Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc., to facilitate the purchase.[6] On August 2, 2010, Progress Rail Services Corporation completed the purchase of Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc. from Greenbriar, Berkshire, et al. making Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Progress Rail Services Corporation.[7]
EMD's headquarters, engineering facilities and parts manufacturing operations are located in La Grange, Illinois, United States. EMD's final assembly operations are located in London, Ontario, Canada.[8] EMD operates a traction motor maintenance, rebuild and overhaul facility in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, and plans to begin assembling locomotives in the United States in late 2011 at a plant located in Muncie, Indiana.[9]
As of 2008, EMD employed approximately 3,260 people worldwide.[10]
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Harold L. Hamilton and Paul Turner founded the Electro-Motive Engineering Company in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1922. In 1923, Electro-Motive Engineering Company sold only two gasoline-powered rail motor cars, one to the Chicago Great Western and the other to the Northern Pacific. Electro-Motive Engineering Company subcontracted the body construction to St. Louis Car Company and the prime mover to Winton Engine Company. The motorcars were delivered in 1924 and worked well, fortunate for the fledgling company, because the sales were conditional on satisfactory performance. In 1925, the company changed its name to Electro-Motive Company (EMC) and entered full-scale production, selling 27 railcars.
While hardly ever is anyone the absolute inventor of any system, Harold L. Hamilton most probably comes close to being the "father of the diesel locomotive". In an evolutionary career that led him into that role, he was without doubt the diesel-electric's guiding coordinator. Starting his railroading career as a fireman on the Southern Pacific Railroad, he became a locomotive engineer on both passenger and freight trains. He eventually became a manager with the Florida East Coast Railway. Upon leaving railroading for an automotive marketing position in Denver, Hamilton, aware of early electric propulsion experiments, the needs of railroads, and his most recent exposure to heavy vehicles, recognized and integrated the idea of more efficient (over steam) internal combustion power with railroading. Financing himself, he quit his truck sales position, set up shop in a hotel with his partner and a designer, and created a product in 1923 that eventually became the successful version of diesel-electric railway propulsion.
In 1930, General Motors, seeing the opportunity to develop the diesel engine, purchased the Winton Engine Company, and after checking the Winton Engine Company's books, decided to purchase its primary customer, becoming the Electro-Motive Corporation (EMC). Advancing from railcars, EMC began building multi-car diesel streamliners for the Union Pacific Railroad, among others. By 1935, GM felt confident enough to invest in a new factory on 55th Street in McCook, Illinois, west of Chicago, which remains the corporate headquarters. By the end of the 1930s, EMC had a diesel engine powerful and reliable enough for locomotive use.
The 567, named for its displacement-per-cylinder of 567 in³ (9.3 L), was a two-cycle (or two-stroke) supercharged engine with overhead camshafts and four exhaust valves per cylinder. It was built in V-6, V-8, V-12 and V-16 configurations. The technology was first used in glittering prow-nosed passenger locomotives, but EMC's eye was on freight service. The glamorous passenger services made little money for the railroads, but replacement of steam engines with reliable diesel units could help railroads save money in a money-losing service. It also gave EMD practical experience and future contacts for capturing the ultimate prize: freight service.
The company produced a multiunit freight locomotive demonstrator, the EMD FT, and began a tour of the continent's railroads to demonstrate it. The tour was a success. Western railroads, in particular, saw that the diesels could free them from dependence on scarce water supplies for steam locomotives. By 1940, EMC was producing a locomotive a day, with 600 in service.
General Motors merged EMC and part of Winton Engine to create the Electro-Motive Division (EMD) on January 1, 1941. All GM locomotives built prior to 1941 were built by EMC. Winton's nonlocomotive products (large submarine, marine, and stationary diesel engines) continued under the title of the Cleveland Diesel Engine Division for another twenty years.
World War II temporarily slowed EMD locomotive production; the diesel engines were instead required in Navy ships, but in 1943, locomotive production regained momentum. More locomotives were needed to haul wartime supplies. The war was, in the end, a godsend for EMD. It was allowed to continue to develop and sell the diesel freight locomotive. Its competitors, principally the American Locomotive Company (Alco) and the Baldwin Locomotive Works, were allowed minimal developmental work with diesel road locomotives. They were ordered to produce mainly diesel switchers and steam locomotives to pre-existing designs as fast as possible. This delayed EMD's competition and dealt them a fatal blow. By the end of the war, EMD's diesel production was in full swing, with new passenger EMD E-units and the new improved freight locomotive the EMD F3 following in late 1946. Baldwin Locomotive was crippled by its incorrect belief that people desired travel on trains pulled by steam locomotives. To meet post-war demands, EMD opened another locomotive production facility in 1948 at Cleveland, Ohio.
The story of diesel's conquest of steam is better placed elsewhere, but a combination of factors weakened steam's position and strengthened that of the diesel locomotive, and by the early 1950s, the majority of American railroads had decided to convert. While other builders had entered the diesel locomotive field, whether old steam builders like Baldwin, Alco and Lima, or newer competitors like Fairbanks-Morse (also a producer of Navy diesels in the war), EMD's extra years of experience told. Most railroads ordered a few units from several builders in their first, trial purchase, but the second, volume order usually went to EMD. Most of these were sales of its freight F-Unit platform. The economic arguments for diesel passenger power over steam were a bit shakier than those for freight service, but it hardly mattered— passenger service was more a matter of rolling advertisements and publicity machines than actual profit by this late date.
In 1949, EMD opened a new plant in London, Ontario, Canada, which was operated by subsidiary General Motors Diesel (GMD), producing existing EMD as well as unique GMD designs for the Canadian domestic and export markets. That same year, EMD introduced a new, revolutionary locomotive, the EMD GP7. Called a road switcher type, its design was that of an expanded diesel switcher, with the diesel engine, main generator and other equipment in a covered, but easily removed, hood (thus the other name for these locomotives, hood units). This hood being narrower than the locomotive, the crew had visibility in both directions from a cab placed near one end. The structural strength in the road-switcher was in the frame, rather than in a carbody as in earlier locomotives. The maintenance ease of this new type of locomotive won over the railroads quickly. Nearly all locomotives produced in the United States for domestic use since the 1960s have been hood units.
EMD's competition was unable to keep pace. Lima failed first, merging with Baldwin and engine builder Hamilton in Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton, but the Baldwin-led company did not endure. Fairbanks-Morse, after producing a series of innovative locomotives that sold poorly, left the locomotive field (the company remains in business, in its original markets). Then, only Alco remained, aided by the industrial might of General Electric, which manufactured the electrical gear used in Alco diesel-electric locomotives. GE entered the locomotive market in the early 1950s with the introduction of gas turbine-electric locomotives. By the early 1960s, GE was marketing its own line of diesel-electrics in its Universal series, such as the U-25B.
The 567 engine was continuously improved and upgraded. The original six-cylinder 567 produced 600 HP, the V-12 1000 HP, and the V-16 1,350 HP. EMD began turbocharging the 567 around 1958; the final version, the 567D3A (built from October, 1963, to about January, 1966) produced 2,500 HP in its V-16 form.
The year 2004 saw CSX Transportation take order of the first SD70ACe locomotives, which were designed to be more reliable, fuel efficient, and maintainable than its predecessor AC locomotive, the SD70MAC. The model also met the stringent EPA Tier 2 emission requirements using the two-stroke 710 diesel engine.
In 2005, Norfolk Southern took the first delivery of the new SD70M-2, the successor of the older SD70M locomotive. Like its sister locomotive, the SD70ACe, the SD70M-2 meets the stringent EPA Tier 2 requirements and uses the same engine. EMD is certified to be in conformance with ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001:2004.[11]
In June 2004, The Wall Street Journal published an article indicating EMD was being put up for sale. On January 11, 2005, Reuters published a story indicating a sale to "two private U.S. equity groups" was likely to be announced "this week". Confirmation came the following day, with a press release issued by General Motors, stating it had agreed to sell EMD to a partnership led by Greenbriar Equity Group LLC and Berkshire Partners LLC. The newly spun-off company was called Electro-Motive Diesel, Incorporated, retaining the EMD name. The sale closed on April 4, 2005.
On June 1, 2010, Caterpillar Inc. announced it had agreed to buy Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc. from Greenbriar, Berkshire et al. for $820 million. Caterpillar's wholly owned subsidiary, Progress Rail Services Corporation, completed the transaction on August 2, 2010, making Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Progress Rail Services Corporation.[7] Although Caterpillar announced that John S. Hamilton would continue in his roles of president and CEO of EMD after the close of the transaction, Mr. Hamilton left EMD for unspecified reasons in late August 2010.[12]
EMD currently maintains major facilities in LaGrange, Illinois, United States; London, Ontario, Canada; and San Luis Potosí, Mexico. EMD plans to open an additional facility in Muncie, Indiana, United States in late 2011.[9]
Since its ground breaking in 1935, the LaGrange facility has been the worldwide headquarters for EMD. In addition to the corporation's administrative offices, LaGrange houses design engineering, emissions testing, rebuild operations, and manufacturing of major components, including prime mover engines, traction alternators, electrical cabinets, and turbochargers. The LaGrange facility includes three main buildings, with over 1,200,000 square feet (110,000 m2) of office and manufacturing space. Ancillary buildings are used to provide maintenance and testing capabilities. EMD LaGrange is ISO 9001:2000 Certified for Quality and ISO 14001 Certified for Environmental Management.
Opened in 1950 to produce EMD locomotives, the London, Ontario, Canada facility was at times used to produce a variety of products in the General Motors family, including transit buses, earth movers, and military vehicles. Situated on a 100-acre (0.40 km2) site, the EMD London facility includes two main buildings and multiple ancillary buildings with over 500,000 square feet (46,000 m2) of office and manufacturing space, as well as a locomotive test track. London is the primary site for the assembly, painting and testing of EMD locomotives. The facility also manufactures components, such as locomotive underframes, traction motors, truck assemblies, and locomotive equipment racks. EMD London is ISO 9001:2000 Certified for Quality and ISO 14001 Certified for Environmental Management.
On April 14, 2010, Electro-Motive opened a facility in San Luis Potosí, Mexico for the maintenance, rebuild, and overhaul of traction motors and other electrical equipment.[13]
In October 2010, Caterpillar Inc. announced it is investing US$50 million to acquire and to renovate an existing 740,000-square-foot (69,000 m2) building for assembly of EMD branded locomotives and to build a locomotive test track on a 75-acre (0.30 km2) site located in Muncie, Indiana. The Muncie facility allows EMD to supply locomotives to publicly funded passenger rail agencies that require their rail equipment to be assembled in the United States.[9] On July 25, 2011, it was announced that production at the facility was planned to begin by the end of the year, with 125 workers having been hired and plans to add more.[14] On October 28, the first locomotive produced at the plant, Ferromex SD70ACe #4092, was rolled out.[15]
In January 2012, union workers were locked out of the EMD London facility[16] after refusing to ratify EMD's proposed new contract. Both the company[17] and the union[18] say that the labor costs at EMD Muncie are about half of those at EMD London, with the implication being that either the Canadian workers level their compensation costs with those of the Americans, or face shutdown. This case provides an example of the challenges of globalization, such as the labor impact of foreign ownership.[16]
EMD also provides maintenance services, technical support, parts inventory, and sales and marketing services from many other locations spread throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, China, India, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Brazil, Egypt, and South Africa.
In the early 1990s, EMD introduced two innovations: the AC induction motor, which increased reliability and tractive effort at low speeds, and the radial steering truck, which reduced wheel and track wear. In the 1990s, locomotive power increased to 6,000 HP(4.5 MW) from a single, sixteen-cylinder 265 H prime mover in the EMD SD90MAC-H locomotive.
In 1999, Union Pacific placed the largest single order for diesel locomotives in North American railroad history when they ordered 1,000 units of the EMD SD70M. Union Pacific's fleet of SD70Ms has since been expanded by more than 450 additional units.
EMD has produced the following series of engines:
In 1966, EMD introduced the enlarged 645 engine. Power ratings were 1,500 HP V-12 nonturbocharged, 1,500 HP V-8 turbocharged, 2,300 HP V-12 turbocharged, 2,000 HP V-16 nonturbocharged, and 3,000 HP V-16 turbocharged. EMD also built a turbocharged V-20 that produced 3,600 HP for the SD-45 that was their first twenty cylinder engine. The final variant of the sixteen cylinder 645 (the 16-645F) produced 3,500 HP.
In 1972, EMD introduced modular control systems with the Dash-2 line; the EMD SD40-2 became one of the most successful diesel locomotive designs in history. A total of 3,945 SD40-2 units were built; if the earlier SD40 class locomotives are included, the total increases to 5,752 units. The vast majority remain in service on North American railroads. In 1984, EMD's control systems on locomotives changed to microprocessors, with computer-controlled wheel slip prevention, among other systems.
EMD introduced their new 710 engine in 1984 with the 60 Series locomotives, although they continued to offer the 645 in certain models (such as the 50 Series) until 1988. The 710 was produced as a twelve-, sixteen-, and twenty-cylinder engine and continues to be in production.
After the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement came into effect in 1989, EMD decided to consolidate all locomotive production at the GMD plant in London, Ontario, a development which ended locomotive production at the McCook, Illinois (commonly called the La Grange plant, after its postal address) in 1991, although the Illinois facility continues to produce engines and generators.
In 1998, EMD introduced the four-stroke 265H-Engine. Instead of completely replacing the 710 series engine, the H-engine continues to be concurrently produced with the G-engine, although all recent locomotive sales have been with the 710 engines and the only 265 engine sales have been overseas, including 265 engines which were reclaimed from scrapped domestic H-engined locomotives.
The following reporting marks are listed for rolling stock:
A number of foreign companies signed agreements with EMD to produce EMD-branded locomotives in markets outside the United States. Some companies took EMD designs and merely built them locally, while others used EMD engines and traction components in locomotive bodies of their own design, often to fit local railroad loading gauge or axle load requirements.
Licensees included the Swedish manufacturing company NOHAB, which sold units to many European operators from the 1950s to the 1970s, and Australia's Clyde Engineering, which used EMD components in locally designed locomotives beginning in the 1950s.[19][20]
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