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Here's the latest from rail industry suppliers and service providers:

• Siemens AG named Roland Busch head of strategy to succeed Horst Kayser, who became chief executive officer of Siemens plc. in the United Kingdom and CEO of Siemens' North West European cluster. Reporting to President and CEO Peter Löscher, Busch most recently was responsible for the mass transit business unit in the former Siemens Group Transportation Systems. He previously was a project manager in the corporate technology department, headed the Infotainment Solutions unit in Siemens' VDO Automotive Group, and served as president and CEO of Siemens VDO Automotive Asia Pacific Co. Ltd.

• Alstom Transport obtained a $21.7 million contract to install ATLAS control systems onboard 10 very high-speed ICE3 trains built by Siemens for Germany's Deutsche Bahn. The contract includes an option to install the system on another seven trains.

• Georgetown Rail Equipment Co. promoted Nate Bachman from manager of business development to director of service planning. The company provides various equipment, including a Dump Train delivery system and track inspection system, to the North American rail industry.

• Rail Development Group (RDG) has appointed Stanley Taylor vice president of the signal & communications business unit, a new division that provides crossing and wayside signal integration services. Taylor returns to RDG after serving five years as Rail Signal Systems' president. He previously served Kansas City Southern for 21 years in various roles, includes signal engineer-director of public works, communication and facilities. RDG supplies remanufactured signaling products to the freight- and passenger-rail industries.

• FreightCar America Inc. reported first-quarter sales of $95.1 million and net income of $1.1 million vs. $322.5 million and $23 million, respectively, in first-quarter 2007. Rail-car orders totaled 2,396 units compared with 2,074 units in the fourth quarter and 768 units in first-quarter 2007. The company's backlog stood at 6,785 units on March 31 vs. 5,399 units on Dec. 31, 2007, and 6,006 units on March 31, 2007.

• Trinity Industries Inc. reported first-quarter earnings from continuing operations of $65.6 million, up 11 percent compared with first-quarter 2007 earnings. Revenue rose 8 percent to $898.9 million. During the quarter, TrinityRail(r) shipped 6,010 rail cars, received orders for 4,080 cars and reached a backlog totaling 27,960 cars valued at $2.4 billion vs. a backlog of 37,790 cars valued at $3.1 billion on March 31, 2007. Lessor Trinity Industries Leasing Co.'s fleet totaled 38,030 cars at quarter's end compared with 32,500 cars a year earlier.

• Portec Rail Products Inc. reported first-quarter net sales of $24.8 million and income of $1.3 million vs. $27.5 million and $1.2 million, respectively, in first-quarter 2007. Portec Rail supplies and distributes rail joints and anchors, spikes, railway friction-management products, wayside data collection and data-management systems, and load securement systems.

• Midland Manufacturing opened a new valve remanufacturing facility in Skokie, Ill., on May 1. The facility features 3,000 square feet of space dedicated to tank car valve remanufacturing. Designed for lean manufacturing processes, the workspace will be managed by a team of nine valve-remanufacturing experts, Midland said.

• HAX Technologies has named Garth Armstrong director of engineering services. Hax provides signal and communication services to the rail industry.