Greenbrier Announces Order from Saudi Railway Company for 1,200 Railcars

The Greenbrier Companies, Inc.

announced today that it received an order in its fourth quarter ended August 31, 2015 from the government-owned Saudi Railway Company (SAR) for approximately 1,200 railroad tank cars. Three types of tank cars will support industrial mining operations – led by the national mining company, Ma'aden – at Wa'ad al Shamal Industrial City in the Sirhan-Turaif region of northern Saudi Arabia. The tank cars will facilitate rail transportation of molten sulfur and phosphoric acid, products that are used in a range of industrial activities. Greenbrier will build the tank cars for SAR under U.S. supervision and management at its wholly-owned Wagony Swidnica subsidiary in Swidnica, Poland. Track dimensions in Saudi Arabia are identical to those in the United States, and the tank cars will be built to U.S. standards on production lines certified by the Association of American Railroads. Delivery of the first tank cars to SAR will begin in the second half of calendar year 2016, and will be completed in 2017 and 2018, depending on car type. Saudi Arabia is a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) which also includes: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. A number of large-scale infrastructure projects are either currently underway or being planned in the region. These projects will require railroad rolling stock, repair and wheel service facilities, and specialized know-how. As a result, the aggregate railcar demand for GCC countries investing in rail is expected to be strong through the next decade. William A. Furman, Chairman and CEO said, "Greenbrier is fully committed to its global manufacturing network. We demonstrated this earlier in 2015 when we announced the reorganization of our Global Manufacturing Operations business unit to ensure all of our manufacturing activities in North America, South America and Europe operate under common leadership and follow shared best-practices manufacturing systems developed through decades of experience and work with global partners like Bombardier in Mexico and Amsted Rail in Brazil. Our entry into Saudi Arabia's railcar market is a great honor and a great responsibility as we participate with the Kingdom in one of its premier economic development and engineering projects at Wa'ad al Shamal City." "To support our current activities in the Kingdom and secure future business opportunities there and in neighboring GCC states, we intend to hire and train Saudi employees who will create a sustained base of operations in Saudi Arabia. These highly trained and qualified employees will create a vibrant and sustained operation in Saudi Arabia that supports and contributes to the Kingdom's rail and infrastructure investments," Furman said. "We are extraordinarily pleased to work with an enterprise of the caliber of SAR. Through our work, we hope to help SAR meet its objectives, create more employment opportunities for Saudi engineers and technicians and assist the Kingdom with its broader goals of economic growth and diversity. We will open offices in Saudi Arabia, led by an on-site Greenbrier country manager and supported by project managers in Riyadh and at Wa'ad al Shamal City."