International Railroad Discussion > Narrow gauge GEVOs on the way

Transnet in South Africa announced an order for 233 ES40ACi in March this year

Basically a GEVO powered version of their earlier 43 Class C30ACi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_Class_43-000

Last month preliminary details of a meter gauge Evolution ES43BBi design started to appear in Brazil. This is a low profile model for height impaired domestic lines, currently off limits to the BB40-9WM, which is basically US standard gauge outline

More detail of the ES43BBi design are appearing
http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/traction-rolling-stock/single-view/view/ge-builds-metre-gauge-evolution.html

A prototype unit is now under construction at GE's Contagem plant in the state of Minas Gerais
GE's release in Portuguese http://www.geimprensabrasil.com/ge-lanca-locomotiva-para-ferrovias-de-bitola-metrica

More details have started to appear on sites in Brazil, the ES43BBi can be configured to 18 ton/axle or be ballasted/heavier frame for greater axle weights. Light weight is required on some lines up the southern coastal escarpments, like at Paranaguá. It will be at least a decade before new easier routes in this region are constructed



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/19/14 18:50 by jmt.

Why are they not making them in Erie, Pa??

They're designed by GE Brazil, no point building them in Erie just to ship them back to Brazil....

So that their Brazilian customers do not have to pay import duty

Compared with the rest of Latin America, Brazil is considered to be an expensive environment in which to manufacture, however compared with the US probably cheaper. Why would an international operator like GE want to base all of its manufacturing in the USA? Far better to do a portion offshore, pay local taxes, and retain the profits overseas in local subsidiaries, away from the clutches of you taxman. GE also has loco manufacturing facilities in Mexico, plus a number of licensees overseas. I note that it is now their intention to manufacture locos for the European/North African/Middle East markets in Turkey, plus they are in a loco JV with CNR in China, plus Transnet in South Africa, as well as a small loco venture in Indonesia. and negotiating to start loco building in India. A number of their short run components (like NG and 5' gauge bogies) are developed and built in Australia

While on the question of US corporations avoiding US taxes, just have a look at the shenanigans of the likes of Apple and Microsoft. To those not resident in the US, these appear to be Irish Corporations, that is where they are domicile for tax purposes

Many countries have regulations to force purchase of locally made equipment, such as Brazil or S. Africa. Or it can be helpful for access to common markets, such as Turkey/EU. Additionally, it can be sometimes justified by very large deals, such as in Kazakhstan .

As someone who routinely has to deal with Brazil's import/export process, it's just plain nasty. Customs clearance processing and taxes/duties are horrible for anything substantial, and if you manage to screw up the paperwork, you get stuck in a nightmarish hell from which your shipment takes months to escape. I perfectly understand wanting to build them down there to avoid the issue.

GE has production down there