Sumitomo Corporation of America Wins $398 Million Rail Car Order from Chicago Metra

Sumitomo Corporation of America (SCOA) was the recipient of a $398 million procurement order for commuter rail cars, the largest ever in Illinois history and one of the largest ever in the commuter railroad industry. Metra, the Northeast Illinois commuter rail system based in Chicago, named SCOA in association with Nippon Sharyo, Ltd. as its supplier for 300 new commuter rail cars.

Illinois Gov. George H. Ryan and Metra officials announced plans for the purchase, which calls for SCOA to deliver 250 new stainless steel Gallery Type bi-level commuter cars, manufactured by Nippon Sharyo. Metra also exercised its option for 50 additional cars. Completion date for delivery is 2005. The order is part of a $2 billion improvement plan approved by Metra's board of directors in November.

"SCOA and our partners worked diligently to win this historic order," said Takeshi Kato, Program Manager, Transportation Systems & Equipment Dept., SCOA. "We are confident that the cars will improve the ride for commuters in Chicago and its surrounding areas."

SCOA will supply car shells designed and built by Nippon Sharyo with final assembly by Super Steel of Milwaukee. Under Metra's Build Illinois provision, SCOA will provide a portion of the total contract value to manufacturers and suppliers from Illinois.

"Thanks to Gov. George Ryan and the Illinois general assembly, Metra can stretch its capital program further to meet the enormous challenge of maintaining our aging infrastructure while responding to demand for more service throughout our six-county region," said Jeffrey R. Ladd, Metra chairman.

Sumitomo has 50 years of contract management experience in bringing transportation systems to life. As a prime contractor, the company has developed, managed and delivered transit systems for Chicago's METRA, the Northern Illinois Commuter Transportation District, the Maryland Mass Transit Administration, California's CALTRANS Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, the Los Angeles County MTA, and the New York City Transit Authority, as well as a people mover system at the Miami International Airport's new North Terminal. Sumitomo's global network has contributed to build various types of transit systems around the world, including a new light rail system in Manila, Philippines (EDSA Street), people mover systems at Hong Kong's new airport at Chek Lap Kok, and other systems in Japan.

Nippon Sharyo, founded in 1896, has manufactured railroad vehicles for more than 100 years and has annual sales of over $800 million. A world leader in the manufacturing of the Gallery car, the company also owns the largest market share of Japanese "Shinkansen" bullet train sets. Since 1980, SCOA and Nippon Sharyo have supplied over 450 rail passenger cars in the U.S. market.

Established in 1952, and headquartered in New York City, SCOA operates offices in 14 American cities. SCOA is the largest wholly-owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation, one of the world's leading traders of goods and services. As an integrated business enterprise, the firm has emerged as a major organizer of multinational projects, an expediter of ideas, an important international investor and financier, and a powerful force for distribution of products and global communications through a network of offices worldwide.

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