Barloworld and EMD form joint venture in Africa

Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor

Barloworld and Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc., a subsidiary of Progress Rail Services Corp., a Caterpillar company, formed a joint venture, Electro-Motive Diesel Africa (Proprietary) Limited. The new joint venture will provide rail and transit customers with locomotive products and services, including access to diesel and emissions technology.

Effective June 2012, Electro-Motive Diesel Africa will offer services and solutions to rail customers in South Africa and neighboring countries, leveraging EMD’s and Barloworld’s existing resources in the region. EMD has a fleet of locomotives in South Africa today. This new venture demonstrates its strong commitment to harness local skills, create jobs and extend a full range of services to customers. The formation of Electro-Motive Diesel Africa also further demonstrates the company’s dedication to growing its global footprint.

Billy Ainsworth, CEO of Progress Rail and EMD, stated as follows, “Africa is an important market for us and the joint venture with an established company, like Barloworld in southern Africa, will position us well to support the needs of existing and new customers in South Africa and the region. Our commitment to support the customer base and build a customer-focused business that will increase local procurement of parts is a key objective. We are delighted to now be able to offer a complete range of rail services via the new joint venture company.”

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