APL Logistics, EMD power up partnership in India

GURGAON, INDIA, 27 SEPTEMBER 2011: Global locomotive manufacturing giant Electro-Motive Diesel Inc. (EMD) and its global third party logistics provider APL Logistics today opened a new 50,000 square foot production and warehousing facility in Patli, Gurgaon, India.

EMD’s long-time global supply chain partner APL Logistics will support the assembly of locomotive components and the storage and distribution of aftermarket service parts at the Gurgaon site. APL Logistics assisted EMD in the selection, design and setup of the facility. Located near rail, highway and airport access points, the facility is designed for quality, flexibility, cost effectiveness, and expansion potential.

“This is a truly world-class production and warehousing facility that we’ve set up in partnership with APL Logistics,” said Mr. Glen Lehman, Senior Vice President of International Sales for EMD. Mr. Lehman led the inauguration of the Patli facility this morning. “This will be the cornerstone of EMD’s manufacturing and warehouse strategies for India.”

“We’ve enjoyed 18 successful years of partnership with EMD and we’re pleased to extend this relationship to India today,” said Dave Frentzel, APL Logistics’ Vice President for Global Contract Logistics. “I’m certain that together, both EMD and APL Logistics will grow their presence and capabilities in this important market.”

“It took the project team just 45 days to deliver a fully-operational state-of-the-art facility from conceptualisation,” highlighted Siddharth Adya, APL Logistics’ Managing Director for South Asia. “That speaks a lot about the intimate collaboration between APL Logistics and EMD, as well as our on-the-ground implementation capability here in India where APL Logistics currently manages over a million square feet in warehousing space.”

The relationship between the two industry leaders began in 1993, the year APL Logistics started running the global distribution hub for EMD’s service parts at Hodgkins, Illinois, U.S. Today, in addition to providing manufacturing support, warehousing and distribution of aftermarket parts for EMD out of the Hodgkins facility, APL Logistics also manages similar operations for EMD in London, Ontario, Canada and in North Platte, Nebraska, U.S.

Founded in 1922, EMD designs, manufactures and sells diesel-electric locomotives for all commercial railroad applications in more than 73 countries worldwide. Recently, EMD became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Progress Rail, which in turn is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Caterpillar, Inc.