Kansas City Southern (KCS, or the Company)(NYSE: KSU)
today announced that Arthur L. Shoener has been elected to the position of
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of KCS and the
positions of President and Chief Executive Officer of The Kansas City
Southern Railway Company (KCSR) and The Texas-Mexican Railway (Tex-Mex).
Shoener will report directly to Michael R. Haverty, who remains Chairman,
President and CEO of KCS and Chairman of KCSR. Haverty has also been elected
Chairman of Tex-Mex.
Shoener will be directly responsible for managing all of KCS rail holdings
within the United States. As EVP and COO of the Company, Shoener will play
an important advisory role in the oversight of TFM, S.A. de C.V. (TFM),
which will become a subsidiary of the Company following completion of the
recently announced acquisition, and the Panama Canal Railway Company (PCRC),
which operates across the Isthmus of Panama.
Shoener began his distinguished career in the transportation industry in
1968 as a participant in the management training program at the Missouri
Pacific Railroad Company. He subsequently held a variety of operations
positions with the company and was serving as general manager of the eastern
region in 1982 when the Missouri Pacific was acquired by the Union Pacific
Railroad Company. His career continued to progress as he took positions of
increased authority at Union Pacific. In 1991, he was named executive vice
president of operations for the entire rail system. Shoener held that
position until he left Union Pacific in 1997 and established a
transportation consulting firm, which had domestic and international
clients.
"We are fortunate to have someone of Art Shoener's caliber join KCS," stated
Michael Haverty. "He is widely acknowledged to be one of the premier
railroad operations professionals in the business. He comes to KCS at a
crucial juncture in the Company's history as we set out to significantly
enlarge the scope of our operations in the U.S. and internationally. Art
provides us with the expertise and management capabilities to ensure that
KCS' rail investments achieve and maintain the highest level of operational
efficiency and customer service."
"I welcome the challenge of joining what will be the fastest growing
railroad system in North America," said Art Shoener. "KCS has the
opportunity to create something unique within the transportation industry,
something no other railroad can duplicate. The opportunities are enormous.
To succeed, all of KCS' rail holdings must be operated at the highest level
of efficiency, while at the same time we aggressively market our rail
services to achieve top line growth. I look forward to working with the
entire KCS team to attain the exceptional results that we know are
possible."
KCS also announced the appointment of Owen M. Zidar to the position of Vice
President - Marketing. Zidar joins KCS from Pacer Global Logistics, where he
served as regional vice president of sales. From 1980 to 2000, he was at
Burlington Northern Santa Fe, where he served in a variety of functions
which coordinated marketing and transportation functions.
"I am pleased to join KCS at such an important time," said Zidar. "I am
especially excited about the extraordinary marketing and sales opportunities
provided by the expansion of KCS' rail system."
KCS is also announcing the restructuring of the management at KCSR with the
arrival of Mr. Shoener. Jerry Heavin, formerly Senior Vice President
Operations, will assume the newly created position of Senior Vice
President-International Engineering and will oversee the rail infrastructure
needs for not only KCS' U.S. rail holdings, but also its international
affiliates. Heavin will report to Shoener. The U.S. transportation,
mechanical, marketing and sales, and labor relations functions will report
to Shoener as will purchasing and risk management.
"Jerry Heavin has done an outstanding job of improving KCSR's rail
operations over the past two and one-half years," said Mike Haverty. "With
Art Shoener's arrival and KCS' planned and existing international
investments, we need Jerry's many years of engineering and track experience
to cover a broader spectrum."
On December 15, 2004, KCS announced that it had reached an agreement with
Grupo TMM, S.A. (TMM) that will ultimately result in KCS owning all of the
shares of TFM entitled to full voting rights. TFM operates the rail corridor
between Mexico City and the border at Laredo, Texas, where it links with the
Tex-Mex. TFM also serves most of Mexico's principal industrial cities and
three of its major ports, including the rapidly expanding Pacific port of
Lazaro Cardenas. Upon completion of the acquisition, KCSR, TMM and Tex-Mex
will operate under KCS as the holding company, and comprise a seamless
6,000-mile rail network linking the commercial and industrial heartlands of
the U.S. and Mexico, as well as interchanging with the Class I railroads
serving North American shippers.
KCS also owns 50 percent of the voting control of the PCRC that operates
passenger and freight service between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
adjacent to the Panama Canal and traces its origins back to 1855. Panama
Holdings, LLC, of Hazel Crest, Illinois, owns the other 50 percent voting
control of PCRC.
KCS is a transportation holding company that has railroad investments in the
United States, Mexico and Panama. Its primary holding is The Kansas City
Southern Railway Company. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, KCS serves
customers in the central and south central regions of the United States. KCS'
rail holdings and investments are primary components of a NAFTA Railway
system that links the commercial and industrial centers of the United
States, Canada and Mexico.
Included in this press release are certain forward-looking statements within
the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such
forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of KCS' management as
well as on assumptions made. Actual results could differ materially from
those included in such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned
that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainty. For
additional information relating to such risks and uncertainties, readers are
urged to review KCS' filings and submissions with the Securities and
Exchange Commission under the Securities Act of 1934, as amended.