GE Transportation Invests $231 Million in Texas and Pennsylvania and Announces 490 Jobs

October 18, 2011

Growing global demand for GE’s high-tech products has led to manufacturing expansion and new jobs in the U.S. in 2011. Today, GE Transportation announced it will spend $231 million to build a new manufacturing plant in Fort Worth, Texas, for making electric drive systems for heavy-duty mining trucks and to expand an existing locomotive and mining equipment factory in Erie, Pennsylvania. GE will hire a total of 490 workers as a result of the two-state push. The new facility in Texas is the 16th new manufacturing plant in the U.S. announced by GE since 2009.

GE Transportation has seen strong global demand for its heavy mining equipment this year—so far growing at a double-digit pace. It has reported $2.1 billion in revenues for the first half of 2011, up 45%, and profits at $335 million, up 135%. The GE division has already announced plans to hire for 2,000 jobs in the U.S. in 2011, including 1,100 positions already filled at the Erie plant, which is currently operating at peak capacity for rail and transportation-related products.

GE will spend $95 million on the new factory in Fort Worth and create some 130 manufacturing jobs there by the expected launch in mid-2012. The 236,000 square-foot plant will manufacture and assemble electric motorized wheels powering house-sized mining trucks that top 1.4 million pounds fully loaded. These wheels can be over 13 feet tall and weigh over 100,000 pounds alone. GE invented electric wheel drive systems in 1963 and through constant innovation has remained an industry leader.

In Erie, GE will invest a total $136 million and hire 360 workers. Some $38 million will be used to increase capacity and modernize equipment used to manufacture drive systems for mining trucks, locomotives and other transportation products.

The company will also spend $58 million to build test labs for large-scale diesel engines, and invest in research and testing technology to reduce emissions and improve fuel efficiency of GE locomotives and other heavy-duty engines.
Finally, GE, which has had production facilities in Erie for more than a century, will use $40 million on plant upgrades, site beautification, and a new customer showcase center.

This is the second large investment announced in Fort Worth and Erie this year. In May 2011, GE announced plans to open a $96 million locomotive manufacturing factory. That investment is set to create 500 jobs and further 275 openings beyond 2012. Also in May, GE said that it would add 250 jobs to meet growing demand for GE goods.

* For more news from Erie, please visit Erie Times-News.

Herb Prody

Why Texas that is work that has always been done here in Erie PA invest in Erie it’s not like we don’t have the land to build another production facilitie on we are slowly being taken apart. GE, which has had production facilities in Erie for more than a century lets keep it here in Erie.
Paul Hill

@ Herb, the answer is obvious to your Why Texas? It is called indirect union busting. A very high percentage of the new jobs GE is creating are in right to work states that are anti-union and anti workers rights. They are also hring people at a much lower wage than the existing union facilities.
Brad Miller

I don’t see anti-union and anti workers rights being the same thing at all. Forcing people to join a union, which will ultimately spend those worker’s dues to elect politicos purely to support the union’s (not the worker’s) agenda is not putting people back to work in this country. Instead, let’s try to pass laws to give everyone a right to work coast-to-coast and eliminate other impediments to starting a business. It’s time to revisit Slaughterhouse:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slaughter-House_Cases

and return the ‘priviledges and immunities’ clase to the pre-eminant position it was intended to have.
Tom Burroughs

I agree completely with Brad but must add the following. The Ft. Worth investment is about having an outstanding local work force to pull from (many universities close to this plant) but more so, about the plant already being linked to one of GE Transportations largest customers (BNSF) via rail today! BNSF will actually be able to pick up the locomotives themselves off of a spur that is in service today. Then there is also the advantage of having the Alliance corridor facility just to the south.
Jerth

Thats interesting Paul Hill. I work in TX and in a plant thats non union. I make more here then I did in a union plant in NJ.
Steve Shelton

Jerth, as a fellow Texan, that is good to hear. It sounds like GE is taking care of it’s employees without the need for union involvement. Hope I can qualify for a job at the new plant in Ft Worth.
Joe

GE is slowly pulling out of Erie. Piece by piece. They are doing it methodically. Farm out as much as you can,Open the new texas facility and see how that goes, then either expand Texas or open another duplicate plant which will give you the green light to shut down Erie for good. No more local 506 to deal with. That way they get the same production at half the wages. They are having a family day in Erie in July, and making huge donations to the Erie community just so when they close the Erie plant, they can say how much they did for Erie. The devastation coming to Erie when this plant closes will be huge! Just like Hammermill, Steris, Johnson Controls, EMI, and all the others that have left Erie, GE will leave their scar and not look back. Thats how they operate.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_T4LQ4L3RAZMEUJDDCHEXNO4SEQ sullyp101

You’ll fit 4right in there in Texas. Don’t fergit to bow when the boss walks by.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_T4LQ4L3RAZMEUJDDCHEXNO4SEQ sullyp101

How do you suppose they get the locomotives out of Erie?
Yup, there’s track there too. And plenty of railway cos..