Electro-Motive Diesels
 |
|
| Private (subsidiary of Progress Rail Services Corporation) | |
| Industry | Railroad Power Generation |
| Predecessor | Electro-Motive Division of General Motors Corporation |
| Founded | August 31, 1922 (Cleveland, Ohio, United States) |
| Founder | Harold L. Hamilton Paul Turner |
| Headquarters | La Grange, Illinois, United States |
| Products |
Locomotives Diesel engines OEM parts |
| Services | Locomotive maintenance Locomotive management Training |
| Owner | Caterpillar Inc. |
|
Number of employees
|
3260 (2008) |
| Parent | Progress Rail Services Corporation |
| Website | www.emdiesels.com |
Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) is an American manufacturer of diesel-electric locomotives, locomotive products and diesel engines for the rail industry. The company is owned by Caterpillar through its subsidiary Progress Rail Services Corporation.
Electro-Motive Diesel traces its roots to the Electro-Motive Engineering Corporation, a manufacturer of gasoline-electric self-propelled rail cars founded in 1922 and later renamed Electro-Motive Company (EMC). In 1930, General Motors purchased Electro-Motive Company and the Winton Engine Co., combining the two to form its Electro-Motive Division (EMD) in 1941.
In 2005, GM sold EMD to Greenbriar Equity Group and Berkshire Partners, which formed Electro-Motive Diesel to facilitate the purchase. In 2010, Progress Rail Services completed the purchase of Electro-Motive Diesel from Greenbriar, Berkshire, and others.
EMD's headquarters, engineering facilities and parts manufacturing operations are based in McCook, Illinois, while its final locomotive assembly line is located in Muncie, Indiana. EMD also operates a traction motor maintenance, rebuild and overhaul facility in San Luis Potosí, Mexico.
As of 2008, EMD employed approximately 3,260 people, and in 2010 it held approximately 30 percent of the market for diesel-electric locomotives in North America.
Harold L. Hamilton and Paul Turner founded the Electro-Motive Engineering Corporation in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1922, soon renaming it to Electro-Motive Company (EMC). The company developed and marketed self-propelled railcars using General Electric's newly developed internal combustion-electric propulsion and control systems. Hamilton started his railroading career as a fireman, then locomotive engineer, on the Southern Pacific Railroad, then became a manager with the Florida East Coast Railway. On leaving railroading for an automotive marketing position in Denver, Hamilton, aware of recent developments in electric propulsion, the technology of heavy vehicles, and the needs of railroads, recognized the opportunities for internal combustion power with railroading. Financing himself, he quit his truck sales position and set up shop in a hotel with his partner and a designer. In 1923 EMC sold two gasoline-powered rail motor cars, one to the Chicago Great Western and the other to the Northern Pacific. EMC subcontracted the body construction to St. Louis Car Company, electrical components to General Electric, 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, EMC entered full-scale production, selling 27 railcars.
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