PITTSBURGH, Jan. 11, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Portec Rail Products, Inc. (Nasdaq:PRPX) today announced that it has increased its expansion into China, as the company recently received new customer orders for its Fault Detection and Friction Management product groups from China. Portec Rail has had a steadily-growing presence in China for its Friction Management products, and has now penetrated the Chinese market with its Fault Detection product group.
Portec Rail is a leader in the North American heavy-haul rail freight markets for friction management with its Total Friction Management(TM) program and Salient Systems' Class I dominance in Wheel Impact Load Detector (WILD) systems. The company is focused on matching this expertise to the Chinese market, which provides tremendous growth opportunity for Portec Rail.
The Friction Management product group has increased its market presence through a significant increase in Chinese market sales in 2009 from the prior year for the train-mounted Kelsan LCF(TM) Solid-Stick lubrication products and HPF(TM) Solid -Stick tread friction modifier while new orders were also received for friction management wayside application systems that included both gage face lubrication and the KELTRACK(R) top of rail friction control product. Another milestone achievement for Portec Rail is Salient Systems' entrance into the Chinese market by receiving orders from Shenhua Energy Company Limited for new WILD systems that include optional Weigh-In-Motion (WIM) and Hunting Truck Detection (HTD) capabilities as well as orders for the Rail Stress Monitor (RSM) product. These systems are to be installed on a coal carrying heavy-haul rail line.
Mr. Richard Jarosinski, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "These orders for a variety of our products reflect the success of our efforts to enter the expanding Chinese rail infrastructure system. Our dedicated employees, along with our sales agents in China, have worked diligently to understand this unique customer base of our Chinese business partners. We have focused our efforts on participating in key industry forums and in-country tradeshows and in the publication of research papers and promotion of customer visits to North America. All of these activities have resulted in significant progress towards making Portec Rail Products, Inc. a meaningful brand name in the Chinese rail system marketplace, which we hope will continue to grow in stature as our products and services become more widely used." Mr. Jarosinski continued, "The Chinese rail service market offers significant growth potential in both heavy-haul freight and passenger service. It has been recently announced that the Chinese will be spending a new record of $120.6 billion in rail expansion efforts this year. It also has been reported that the period from 2010 to 2012 will be a key period for the rail modernization effort in China according to the Ministry of Railways. Rail transportation investment includes major capacity expansions for some of the country's existing coal railways as well as the planned construction of several new coal railways by companies such as Shenhua Energy Company Limited. In addition, major expansion is also set for high speed passenger rail service lines. Our growth in China's rail industry should position us well as China continues to expand and modernize its railways. We are focused and dedicated to increasing the use of both our friction management and wayside data collection systems in China and other key international markets."
Portec Rail Products, Inc., headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, manufactures, supplies and distributes a broad range of railroad products, including rail joints, rail anchors and spikes, railway friction management products, railway wayside data collection and data management systems and load securement systems. The Company's largest business unit, the Railway Maintenance Products Division, operates a manufacturing and assembly plant in Huntington, West Virginia, an engineering and assembly facility in Dublin, Ohio (Salient Systems), and is headquartered in Pittsburgh. The Company also has two Canadian subsidiaries, one of which is headquartered near Montreal with a manufacturing operation in St. Jean, Quebec and the other headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia that is a technology and manufacturing facility (Kelsan Technologies). In addition, the Company sells load securement systems to the railroad freight car market through its Shipping Systems Division located near Chicago, Illinois. The Company also manufactures railway products and material handling equipment in the United Kingdom with operations in Leicester, England and Sheffield, England. Portec Rail Products, Inc.'s web site address is www.portecrail.com.
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The foregoing information contains forward-looking statements. The Company cautions that such statements are subject to a number of uncertainties. The Company identifies below important factors that could affect the Company's financial performance and could cause the Company's actual results for future periods to differ materially from any opinions or statements expressed with respect to future periods in any current statements. In particular, the Company's future results could be affected by a variety of factors, such as customer demand for our products; competitive dynamics in the North American and worldwide railroad and railway supply industries; capital expenditures by the railway industry in North America and worldwide; the development and retention of sales representation and distribution agreements with third parties; fluctuations in the cost and availability of raw materials and supplies; currency rate fluctuations; and exposure to pension liabilities. Additional cautions regarding forward-looking statements are provided in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008 and Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2009 under the heading "Cautionary Statement Relevant to Forward-looking Statements." The Company does not undertake, and specifically disclaims, any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company.