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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

GE Transportation Announces New Plant, Plus 1,000 New Manufacturing Jobs in TX and PA

05/16/2011
GE Transportation, the world's leading maker of rail and transportation products, announced plans to open a new manufacturing facility in Fort Worth, TX. It is expected to employ over 500 workers by 2012, with the potential of up to 275 more workers in subsequent years.

The company plans to invest up to $96 million to build the 900,000-sq.-ft., state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in the Lone Star State. It will house the manufacturing and assembly of GE's rail and transportation-related products, including fuel-efficient locomotives such as the Evolution® Series (reduces emissions by up to 40 percent and cuts fuel use by 5 percent).

The proposed Fort Worth location in Denton County will become final upon conclusion of pending local approval. The State of Texas will commit up to $4.2 million in incentives toward the project through the Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF). "GE provides excellent and highly desirable jobs in our community," said Bill Thornton, president/CEO of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce. "This announcement significantly adds to the broad base of quality manufacturers that already call Fort Worth home."

GE also announced it will add 250 new jobs at its long-time home base facility located in Erie, PA., its home for over a century. Currently over 4,500 people work at the facility, which has recalled around 800 production workers since late 2010 and announced 450 new jobs since April (including the 250 just announced).

"GE Transportation is experiencing strong U.S. and global growth because of its technical leadership and we need to increase our manufacturing capacity and flexibility," said GE Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt. "We see robust growth in the U.S. and around the globe. A new site will help us to effectively respond to the cyclical demand in the transportation industry and to strengthen our overall position."

The company received $938 million of orders in the first quarter of 2011, and reported $903 million in first-quarter revenues-an increase of 18 percent year-over-year. Segment profits for the same period were $157 million, up 37 percent year-over-year.

Since 2009, GE has announced the creation of 6,500 new high-tech U.S. manufacturing jobs; almost 1,000 of them have been added as of April 2011.

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