GE Transportation and UGL Extend Rail Partnership by 10 Years

GE Transportation and United Group Limited (ASX: UGL) have announced the signing of a series of 10-year agreements for the sales and distribution of locomotives and associated technology and services in Australia.

Through these agreements, UGL Rail will remain the Australian distributor of GE’s US heavy-haul locomotives, including the Evolution® Series. UGL Rail will also continue to provide spare parts, maintenance and servicing to GE locomotives and to design and build locomotives in Australia using GE technology. Approximately 500 locomotives from GE Transportation and UGL Rail are currently in use throughout Australia.

GE Transportation President & CEO Lorenzo Simonelli said the two companies looked forward to continued support of their customers in the resources and freight industries, which are such an integral part of Australia’s economy.

“GE Transportation is pleased to announce this relationship with UGL to serve our mutual customers in Australia with the most technologically advanced heavy-haul locomotives in the world,” Mr. Simonelli said.

“Together, we’ve been able to increase hauling power for customers while reducing fuel consumption and emissions throughout Australia. Today’s announcement is a testament to our commitment to Australia’s rail infrastructure.”

UGL Managing Director & CEO Richard Leupen said UGL was delighted to formalise its long-term relationship with GE Transportation, which has already been running for more than 40 years.

“This long-term agreement will support UGL’s rail operations throughout Australia and help cement our position as Australia’s leading supplier of rail solutions,” Mr. Leupen said.

“UGL also has a strong ongoing relationship with GE in the power and water sectors, as well as in areas such as security and property services. This reflects our ongoing strategy of forming partnerships with the world’s leading technology providers.”

The Evolution Series Locomotive, launched in 2002 and introduced into revenue service in 2005, represents a US$400 million investment by GE over eight years. GE Transportation has already sold more than 3,200 Evolution Series locomotives. The Evolution Series Locomotive is 5 percent more fuel efficient and generates 40 percent lower emissions than previous locomotives. It saves approximately 300,000 gallons of fuel over its lifetime. In addition, the Evolution Series Locomotive is more than 6 percent more fuel efficient than GE’s closest competitor in North America as validated by a nationally recognized, independent research institute in March 2009.

The Evolution Series Locomotive is one of GE’s most prominent ecomaginationSM products. Ecomagination is a GE-wide initiative to help meet customer demand for more energy-efficient products. Evolution Series Locomotives currently are operating in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, China, Mongolia, Australia, Kazakhstan and Egypt, and approximately 17,000 GE locomotives are in use in more than 50 countries around the world.

About GE Transportation

Established more than 100 years ago, GE Transportation, an operational unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), is a global technology leader and supplier to the railroad, marine, drilling, mining and wind industries. GE Transportation provides freight and passenger locomotives, signalling and communications systems, information technology solutions, marine engines, motorized drive systems for mining trucks and drills, high-quality replacement parts and value added services. GE Transportation is headquartered in Erie, Pa., and employs approximately 10,000 employees worldwide. For more information, visit www.getransportation.com.

About United Group Limited

United Group Limited (ASX: UGL) is an engineering, maintenance and facilities management company operating in the rail, water, power, transport, resources and property sectors. It consists of four divisions – UGL Infrastructure, UGL Rail, UGL Resources and UGL Services (incorporating UGL Premas, UGL Equis and UGL Unicco). Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, UGL operates in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, North America and the Middle East and directly employs approximately 30,000 people. For more information, visit www.unitedgroupltd.com.