Supply Side: The Greenbrier Companies, Trane Technologies
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
“During the last five months, Greenbrier has refinanced nearly $1.5 billion of debt, almost doubling the tenor of our debt by extending maturities into 2028,” Chairman and CEO William A. Furman reported on Aug. 30.
The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. has completed $1.5 billion of refinancing activity. In addition, Trane Technologies’ Thermo King will invest more than $100 million over the next three years to deliver a fully electric product in every segment of the cold chain by 2023.
Greenbrier has renewed three bank facilities totaling more than $1 billion. This includes extending its $600 million domestic revolving facility and $292 million term loan by five years and its Greenbrier Leasing subsidiary’s non-recourse $200 million term loan by six years. The company said it now has “no material debt maturing in the next five years and staggered maturities beginning in 2026 and into 2028.”
“Extending Greenbrier’s banking facilities to maintain our strong liquidity profile has been a critical part of our strategy for managing the business through the pandemic and into recovering markets,” Chairman and CEO William A. Furman said. “During the last five months, Greenbrier has refinanced nearly $1.5 billion of debt, almost doubling the tenor of our debt by extending maturities into 2028.
“With a debt-to-equity ratio of approximately 1:1 and dividends paid to shareholders for 29 consecutive quarters, Greenbrier has prudently managed capital to maximize shareholder returns. Expansion of the GBX Leasing platform continues through Greenbrier’s purposeful approach to capital deployment that balances equity and non-recourse debt in rail fleet financings. Combined with momentum in our other business units, these factors position Greenbrier well as the economy and our markets continue to recover.”
In other developments, Greenbrier on Aug. 26 reported it has received new orders for 5,500 railcars valued at more than $530 million during its fourth fiscal quarter that began on June 1, 2021. In July, the company reported financial results for its third fiscal quarter ended May 31, 2021.
Thermo King’s all-electric portfolio, evolve™, will include electric refrigeration solutions for truck, trailer, rail, air and marine transport in the North America, Latin America and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regions. New electric and hybrid products (using an internal combustion engine for an emergency backup power source only) will be available in every cold chain segment in EMEA by 2023, and in the Americas by 2025, the company reported. It noted that the additions to the portfolio align “with customers’ goals to transition to more sustainable solutions for their fleets.”
Thermo King already offers the E-200 for middle and last-mile delivery, and the TE-18 and Athenia™ all-electric HVAC units for buses. In the Americas region, “the enhanced electric architecture on the connected Precedent™ trailer unit leverages shore power and will undergo field trials with customers later this year,” according to parent company Trane Technologies.
“Our expertise in electrification has positioned Thermo King as a trusted partner to respected industry leaders such as Isuzu, Tesco, Mercedes-Benz and technology companies such as ELMS, Gatik and BPW who continue to find new ways to innovate the cold chain,” Thermo King Americas President Karin De Bondt said. “Through these strategic partnerships, we are able to further our advancements of sustainable power solutions and electrified product offerings that meet customer, regulatory and environmental requirements in our industry and our world.”
Thermo King has provided temperature control solutions for a variety of applications, including trailers, truck bodies, buses, air, shipboard containers and railcars since 1938.
