Rail supplier news from Bombardier, Alstom, Greenbrier, Kelso and Miller Ingenuity (April 7)

Bombardier Transportation has appointed Benoit Brossoit president of the company's Americas Division, effective April 11. He succeeds Raymond Bachant, who is leaving Bombardier to pursue other opportunities. Brossoit's career spans more than 25 years in leadership roles, including stints at General Motors and Pratt & Whitney Canada.

Alstom has acquired a 51 percent share in South African rail company Commuter Transport & Locomotive Engineering (CTLE). In addition, Alstom has renamed the company Alstom Ubunye ("unity" in Zulu) and appointed Yvan Eriau its chief executive officer. The newly acquired company employs more than 400 people and has an 861,000-square-foot manufacturing facility.

For its second fiscal quarter ending Feb. 29, the Greenbrier Cos. Inc. posted net income of $44.9 million, a 10.9 percent decrease compared with the same period last year. Revenue rose 6 percent to $669.1 million, while diluted earnings per share came in at $1.41. The new rail-car backlog as of Feb. 29 was 34,100 units, with an estimated value of $4 billion, compared with 36,000 units valued at $4.1 billion as of Nov. 30, 2015. Additionally, Greenbrier received diversified orders for 3,000 new rail cars and delivered 4,500 units during its most recent quarter. The company is "adjusting well" to the current industry and economic climate, said Greenbrier Chairman and Chief Executive Officer William Furman, noting that non-energy related rail cars represent 83 percent of the company's total backlog.

Kelso Technologies Inc. has entered into a products distribution agreement with Metal Goods Manufacturing Co. Inc., which designs and manufactures check valves, fittings, magnetic gauging devices and control valves used in the rail, pipeline and natural gas industries. Kelso will market and develop Metal Goods' product lines in conjunction with its own. The agreement marks an important step in Kelso's strategic plan to increase revenue and profit from additional product sales per tank car, Chief Executive Officer James Bond said in a press release.

Miller Ingenuity named Joe Denny product and market specialist, focusing on the company's roadway worker protection (RWP) system known as "Train Alert." Initially, Denny will focus on meeting with railroad and transit leaders to help define the next generation of electronic RWP equipment under development at the company. Denny is the founder and former chief executive officer of RailComm.