Union Tank Car Company Contracts with CEC for Roller Hearth Normalizing Furnace

Kennesaw, GA (July 10, 2007) -Consolidated Engineering Company (CEC) has been contracted to build and install a new roller hearth normalizing furnace for Union Tank Car Company, who plans to incorporate normalizing heat-treatment to its in-house manufacturing operations in Sheldon, Texas near Houston.

Union Tank Car Company, a member of The Marmon Group of companies, is the leading designer, builder, and full service lessor of specialized railcars. Including the cars of its Canadian affiliate, Procor Limited, UTLX owns a fleet of approximately 85,000 railcars. In addition to manufacturing facilities in East Chicago Indiana, Alexandria Louisiana and Sheldon Texas, the Chicago-based company operates a North American network of repair shops, lining shops and On-Site(R) repair locations.

This project represents another expansion the company has undertaken in the last several years. A new state of the art facility for manufacturing non-pressurized tank cars was opened in June of 2006 in Alexandria, Louisiana. Having normalizing heat treatment capabilities at their Sheldon Plant will allow the company to increase its production of pressurized cars.

CEC’s furnace will be designed and built to operate at 1700ºF. Special cast alloy rolls will be utilized to convey products up to 150 inches wide through the furnace. The furnace system will also include a heavy-duty roller conveyor. Since its beginning in 1959 CEC has built over a hundred roller hearth furnaces for various applications.