High-speed trains will be built and operate in Wisconsin; Badger Meter reports record quarter; Harley to cut another 1,000 jobs
High-speed trains will be built and operate in Wisconsin
New high-speed trains will not only operate in Wisconsin. They will be built here.
On Friday, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle announced an agreement with the Spanish train manufacturer Talgo to put two Talgo high-speed trains into service in Wisconsin and to establish new train assembly and maintenance facilities in the state. Talgo officials said they have looked at facilities in Janesville and Milwaukee for their operations, but have not selected a site yet.
The rail car assembly plant will support the delivery of Talgo trains throughout the country. The dedicated rail car maintenance facility will provide ongoing service for equipment used in the Midwest. Talgo currently operates a maintenance facility in Seattle, Wash., to service Amtrak Cascades trains.
Together, the assembly and maintenance facilities are expected to create about 80 jobs for Wisconsin workers, with the potential for more jobs as operations grow.
Aluminum alloy structural frame parts for the Talgo trains will be manufactured in Spain and then shipped to Wisconsin for assembly. Talgo will be working with Wisconsin and other U.S. vendors to supply parts for outfitting the trains.
Wisconsin will purchase two, 14-car train sets from Talgo for $47 million. The agreement provides an option to buy two additional train sets if the state is successful in securing federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding for the extension of passenger rail service from Milwaukee to Madison.
"We are pleased to welcome Talgo to Wisconsin," Doyle said. "I can’t wait for our Midwestern travelers to experience first-hand the comfort, modern amenities and expanded seating capacity on these wonderful trains. In addition, the company will use Wisconsin workers and skills to assemble and maintain Talgo trains. This relationship has the potential to create even more jobs, gives the state a major role in the growth of an exciting transportation industry and helps us move forward with our vision for high speed passenger rail service in the Midwest."
Talgo officials joining Doyle to make the announcement in Madison included Antonio Perez, chief executive officer and president of Talgo Inc., the company’s U.S. subsidiary, and Jose Maria Oriol, CEO and president of Patentes Talgo, Spain.
"After 14 years of track record in the U.S. market and having participated in the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative in 2000, Talgo is very excited to have its equipment selected again as the most suitable for the Madison-Milwaukee-Chicago Corridor," Perez said. "We are very excited with the opportunity of manufacturing high-speed trains in Wisconsin and helping to bring economic development and the option for proven intercity passenger rail equipment to the Midwest region. We appreciate the leadership from Gov. Doyle in this very important step towards accomplishing the new administration’s vision."
Talgo cars are made of aluminum alloy with welded seams to form a structural frame making them lighter weight and stronger than traditional rail cars. The rail cars use passive tilt technology that allows the cars to navigate curves at higher speeds with less car tilting and to ride smoother at higher speed, greatly enhancing passenger comfort.
The trains will be put into service on the Amtrak Hiawatha Service with the cars pulled by existing locomotives. Each train set provides a seating capacity of 420, compared with the current capacity of 350.
The Amtrak Hiawatha Service provides daily trips between Chicago and Milwaukee, Ridership on the Hiawatha Service continues to grow, with more than 766,000 riders in 2008, a 24-percent increase over 2007.
"I’m delighted the State of Wisconsin has taken the bold step to purchase modern, new passenger rail equipment," said Amtrak chairman of the board Thomas Carper. "Amtrak has had a great response to Talgo train equipment on its Cascades Service in the Pacific Northwest, and we are confident travelers on the Hiawatha Service will have the same reaction. Wisconsin has always been one of Amtrak’s strongest state partners, and we congratulate Gov. Doyle on this important and exciting initiative that will bring new levels of comfort and convenience to intercity travelers."
Badger Meter reports record quarter
Badger Meter Inc. reported record earnings and earnings per share for the second quarter and six months ended June 30.
The Milwaukee-based company reported record net earnings of $7.8 million, or 52 cents per share, up from $7.0 million, or 48 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
Badger Meter’s quarterly net sales were $67.8 million, up 9.2 percent from $74.7 million a year earlier.
"Our earnings and earnings per share set new records, not only for the second quarter, but for any quarter in the history of the company. This achievement was especially significant in view of the continuing economic downturn and order delays caused by uncertainty over federal funding," said Richard Meeusen, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Badger Meter.
Meeusen said the record second-quarter earnings reflected favorable pricing for raw materials, including copper and other commodities, and the company’s ongoing emphasis on cost containment. The gross profit margin was 39.3 percent for the second quarter of 2009, compared with 35.3 for the same period in 2008.
"Sales to the utility market decreased 6.3 percent in the second quarter and 2.8 percent in the first half of 2009, reflecting the downturn in the utility market. However, our results outperformed the industry, which is down approximately 15 percent, according to recent industry reports," Meeusen said. "We believe the industry slowdown is partly due to customers delaying purchasing decisions while they evaluate the potential for obtaining federal dollars or other funding sources for infrastructure improvements. These conditions may continue for the short term. Long term, we believe we will continue to see a growing demand for our water meters and metering technologies in response to concerns about the environment and water shortages."
Meeusen added that sales of the company’s industrial products decreased 24 percent in the second quarter of 2009, due to the continuing recessionary environment across all of the company’s industrial product lines.
In June, the company introduced the E-Series Meter, a new line of residential water meters. The new meter differs from traditional residential water meters in the market today because it is an electronic, solid-state meter with no moving parts and additional features. Powered by an internal battery, the meter is not affected by the normal wear and tear of mechanical moving parts. The all-electronic meter has a lifespan of 20 years and maintains its high level of accuracy throughout the life of the meter. The E-Series Meter is compatible with the Badger Orion and the Badger Galaxy meter reading systems.
"The new E-Series Meter was developed by Badger Meter engineers as part of our ongoing strategy to invest in new products and technologies that meet evolving customer needs," Meeusen said. "With our solid balance sheet and strong cash flow, we believe we are well positioned to weather the current slowdown in the economy and to continue to move forward with our long-term growth strategies."
Harley to cut another 1,000 jobs
Facing a 91-percent drop in second quarter profits, Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson Inc. announced last week its plans to eliminate 1,000 jobs, including 700 positions from the hourly production workforce and 300 salaried positions.
The cuts will include about 480 jobs in the Milwaukee area, about 100 jobs from the company’s Harley Davidson Financial Services subsidiary and another 400 jobs from the firm’s production plant in Kansas City, Mo., a company spokesman said
The new layoffs come in addition to plans announced earlier this year by Harley to eliminate about 1,400 to 1,500 hourly production positions in 2009 and 2010 and about 300 non-production, primarily salaried positions.
Harley said the additional cutbacks are necessary because of declines in motorcycle sales and shipment volume. Worldwide retail sales of new Harley-Davidson motorcycles were down 30.1 percent in the second quarter compared with the second quarter of 2008. Sales of new Harley-Davidson motorcycle sales in the United States were down 35.1 percent in the second quarter.
Harley also lowered its 2009 shipment expectations for Harley-Davidson motorcycles. The company now plans to ship between 212,000 and 228,000 Harley-Davidson motorcycles to dealers and distributors worldwide in 2009, or 25 percent to 30 percent fewer than the 303,479 shipped in 2008.
"We continue to take these difficult actions to manage through the current challenges, and we also continue to take major steps in creating the operational effectiveness that is essential to our long-term future," said Harley-Davidson president and chief executive officer Keith Wandell. "We are committed to doing what is required to enable Harley-Davidson to operate as a competitive business and employer over the long haul."
The company remains profitable, but those profits are much smaller. Harley reported second quarter net income of $19.8 million, or 8 cents earnings per share, down 91 percent from $222.8 million, or 95 cents earnings per share, in the second quarter of 2008. The company reported second quarter revenue of $1.15 billion, down from $1.57 billion for the second quarter of 2008.
"While the underlying fundamentals of the Harley-Davidson brand remain strong and our dealers’ retail motorcycle sales declined less than our competitors, it is obviously a very tough environment for us right now, given the continued weak consumer spending in the overall economy for discretionary purchases," Wandell said.
