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KCS and WWL Announce Agreement to Establish Houston Metro Distribution Center for Nissan

Dépèche transmise le 16 juillet 2009 par Business Wire

KCS and WWL Announce Agreement to Establish Houston Metro Distribution Center for Nissan

KANSAS CITY, Mo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kansas City Southern (KCS) (NYSE: KSU) and Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL) are pleased to announce that they have reached an agreement to establish a finished vehicle distribution center adjacent to the CenterPoint Intermodal Center-Houston Metro (CIC-HM) hub for its regional automotive distribution services in Texas.

WWL, one of the world's largest providers of logistics services for manufacturers of finished vehicles, has agreed to open a new vehicle distribution center at the KCS, CIC-HM hub located near Houston, Texas.

This new facility will allow WWL to provide new vehicle distribution service to three states from a single site. Located on the new Victoria to Rosenberg KCS main line, CIC-HM provides direct access to the Nissan manufacturing facility at Aguascalientes, Mexico and the Port of Lazaro Cardenas.

"It is exciting to have a customer of WWL / Nissan’s caliber select CIC-HM to serve their customers in Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma," said Brian Bowers, KCS senior vice president of intermodal and automotive. "The facility has the rail capacity, highway access and available land to serve Nissan as the demand for new vehicles returns."

“Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics is constantly searching for ways to improve the Factory to Dealer journey for automobile manufacturers,” commented Christopher Connor, president of Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, Americas. “We are excited to work with Kansas City Southern on our mission to seamlessly connect automakers and dealerships in the US, Mexico and the rest of the region.”

CIC–HM is an 800-acre intermodal and automotive logistics park located 35 miles southwest of Houston. The facility is a joint development project of CenterPoint Properties and The Kansas City Southern Railway Company (KCSR).

About Kansas City Southern

Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., KCS is a transportation holding company that has railroad investments in the U.S., Mexico and Panama. Its primary U.S. holding is KCSR, serving the central and south central U.S. Its international holdings include Kansas City Southern de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. serving northeastern and central Mexico and the port cities of Lázaro Cárdenas, Tampico and Veracruz, and a 50 percent interest in Panama Canal Railway Company, providing ocean-to-ocean freight and passenger service along the Panama Canal. KCS' North American rail holdings and strategic alliances are primary components of a NAFTA Railway system, linking the commercial and industrial centers of the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

About Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics

WWL (www.2wglobal.com) is a leading independent provider of global factory-to-dealer transport solutions for automotive, agricultural and construction equipment industries. The company also specializes in handling complicated project cargo such as rail cars, power generators, mining equipment, and yachts. WWL's sophisticated supply chain management services ensure an efficient integration of ocean services, inland distribution, terminal handling, and a comprehensive range of specialized technical services.

WWL employs 3,000 people and deploys more than 60 modern environmentally adapted vessels, serving 20 trade routes to six continents. WWL transports 4 million vehicles annually: 2 million by sea and 2 million by land. Annual throughput of the 33 vehicle processing centres is 3 million units. The company has a strong environmental focus and is an industry leader in developing innovative solutions to reduce its operational impacts on the environment.

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