Senator Gillibrand Brings Made in America Message to Alstom Hornell

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That was just one of the points U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand drove home last Friday during a visit to Alstoms rail car manufacturing plant in Hornell, New York, where she launched a new piece of legislation the Made in America Manufacturing Act which would catalyze U.S. manufacturing and create new jobs for U.S. workers.

Before a crowd of nearly 100 Alstom employees, local officials, union leaders and members of the community, the Senator explained how her bill would establish a program where states and regions would compete for funding to support local manufacturers with low-interest loans. Those dollars would be used to establish new manufacturing sites, upgrade existing facilities, advance export opportunities, expand access to U.S. suppliers and launch innovative workforce training efforts.

Prior to the press conference, Alstom Transport North America President Guillaume Mehlmanand Site Managing Director Mark Darrow hosted the Senator on a tour of the Hornell facility, and provided a first-hand glimpse of efforts underway to modernize 120 metro cars for the Delaware River Port Authoritys PATCO rail fleet.

Mehlman highlighted the importance of the Senators visit saying, We all are honored that Senator Gillibrand chose our factory as the backdrop for today's announcement, and applaud any legislation that recognizes and supports efforts to enhance America's domestic manufacturing capability.

Alstoms team in Hornell is today able to build rail cars that are nearly 100% Made in America. The Senators tour also included major components used in the production of passenger rail cars, many of which Alstom has sourced from supplier companies in the U.S.

The program included remarks from several community stakeholders. Valerie Nixon, Executive Vice President of Alfred State College, expressed how her schools partnership with Alstom in Hornell exemplifies the sort of synergistic public-private effort needed to prepare Americas workforce for the manufacturing jobs of tomorrow. Samuel Nasca, Chairman of the Hornell Industrial Development Agency, emphasized the impact Senator Gillibrands bill could have in bringing new, high-quality jobs to the community.

Reacting to the Senators announcement, BlueGreen Alliance Executive Director David Foster noted that, After losing jobs over the past few years, American manufacturing is experiencing a resurgence, adding half a million jobs since 2009. Innovation and investment are helping fuel this economic engine, where every dollar in final sales of manufactured products supports $1.37 in other sectors of the US economy. This bill will strengthen this resurgence and put even more people back to work. We support this effort designed to keep America at the forefront of the global economy.

Alstoms Hornell site continues a legacy of rail manufacturing that dates back more than a century. It is the largest facility of its kind in the United States at 750,000 square feet, and its team has manufactured or modernized more than 7,000 passenger rail cars for customers across the United States. In addition to the PATCO fleet renovation, Alstom workers in Hornell also are modernizing two rail fleets for Bostons MBTA.

Alstom's U.S. team had built more than 7,000 rail cars for cities and towns across the U.S.