Porter Taylor: And with the charging stations, what do you think the economic value you could you could have per charging station? I mean that’s going to be a huge growth market going forward.
Gregory Peloquin: Right. And as we all know, the car market completely outweighs the infrastructure to get you charged up to be able to drive across North America or Europe. So what it’s going to be, I think, is similar to what we saw with the growth of these other products I’ve just talked about, where the customers are going to say, “Hey, you helped us design in all these components, can you build the module? Can you build — in some cases, we did it at 1 time when it was in infancy, I actually build charging stations for the customer. Like we do stuff for Lam, we do stuff for Caterpillar and Progress Rail. So our value will be anywhere from component design in to building and designing modules, to potentially building a larger portion of the actual charging station itself as more and more niche customers come out to try to support that market.
Porter Taylor: Okay. So that’s an evolving niche market that could be potentially another leg to the stool.
Gregory Peloquin: Yes.
Porter Taylor: Can we talk about, with Progress Rail, 1 of the things a strike to obviously, you commented on how the industry — the rail industry is looking at basically going kind of carbon neutral pushing forward. You’re working with progress, which is Cat and their installed base that I can use that phrase here in the diesel use of electric locomotive business. Do you know?
Gregory Peloquin: I believe it’s 25,000 in North America, 25,000 diesel locomotives. What portion of that is Progress Rail — between them and Wabtec, I think it’s probably going to be divided up 60-40. But right now, the number that we heard from Progress Rail is about 25,000 diesel locomotives in North America that could convert over the next number of years between now and 2030.
Porter Taylor: Okay. And that’s — so that’s obviously…
Gregory Peloquin: To add to that, their forecast to us was about $50 million electric locomotives over the next 3 to 5 years was the conversion they were talking about. And so what they would be seeing therefore is given the idea that they’re talking about like a 10-year — 7- to 10-year ramp, towards getting the 25,000, what you would expect to see is that 50 or so over the next few years and then almost you go parabolic after that?
Gregory Peloquin: Yes, absolutely, yes. Yes. In fact, like I mentioned before, for example, the program we have with Progress Rail out of Brazil, when that locomotive is done, which will be in their forecast, we’re shipping now the guts of it, if you will, but they’ll build the final train and introduce it to the customer in November of next year — or this year, it will be the largest electric vehicle in the world. And so to be involved with that capability and program on a weekly basis, and I think when that — even that — just that hits, we’re going to see a big uptick. And then you’re going to see, like you said, 3 to 5 years just booming as the acceptance of the product and subsidies take place.
Porter Taylor: And so we’re looking at, depending on the size and power of the locomotive and your role in it, $1 million to $3-plus million a copy?
Gregory Peloquin: Exactly. Like I mentioned before, we build either the module itself with the ultracapacitors or lithium ion. We then build the structure, which is like putting them in racks, and then some controlling circuitry. And then the third thing is the superstructure, which is literally the guts, the engine — taking the diesel engine out and putting in a lithium-ion phosphate-based structure. And so yes, depending on that, it’s anywhere from $1 million to $3 million per train.
Porter Taylor: And so when we’re looking at the math, I mean this is 1 of the issues why I think it would be great to get some people telling my peers how to think you’re looking at a market that literally as we go in the next 4 or 5 years, you’re going to get meaningfully more revenue out of the electric locomotive business than you get as a company today. And you’re not going to lose anything else. You’re not going to lose the wind tower, you’re not going to lose any other aspects of the business.
Gregory Peloquin: Yes. That is the opportunity that we’re looking at. And part of this business in terms of NPI, which again, this is new product, this is new disruptive technology that’s going forward is you need to get whether you call it a beta site, a sponsor or a partner. And if you just look at this, and I was talking to somebody yesterday about it, I had 3 phone calls on Monday, and 1 was with Siemens, 1 was a Caterpillar and 1 with NextEra. And they’re they it. I mean, to have them — and not only is just beta site partners, I mean — or beta site companies to test this product, I mean, we have calls every week. We’re partners. And out of that — so you got the upside of what we know. But out of that, if you think about all the other applications that a Caterpillar is going to look at or that a Siemens is going to look at.
We’re learning so much from them on what they need — and again, we’re a very unique company that has — we’re public. We’re of $100 million. But these programs that we’re dealing with just could jump this company to huge numbers. And at 1 time, we were at what, yes, $600 million.
