Wilmerding-based Wabtec Corp., a product and service manufacturer for the rail industry, completed its second acquisition in five months Monday, purchasing Xorail LLC for $40 million in cash.

Xorail, based in Jacksonville, Fla., has about 275 domestic employees and provides signal engineering and design services. It posts annual sales of about $40 million.

Wabtec spokesman Tim Wesley said the acquisition would have no effect on local employment.

Xorail, founded in 1990, services railroads and passenger transit authorities in North America. The company has 10 satellite offices throughout North America -- the closest is in Philadelphia -- and one in Bangalore, India.

The acquisition allows Wabtec to expand its locomotive services. Xorail specializes in "wayside" technology, or technology outside the locomotive. For example, Xorail will engineer and design signal towers that alert drivers of an oncoming train, while Wabtec focuses on the computers inside the locomotive.

Wabtec saw a profit for the quarter ending Dec. 31 of $24.2 million, or 50 cents per share. That's down 22 percent from the same quarter one year ago.

Wabtec's earnings for 2009 were $115.1 million, down from the $130.6 million it posted the year before.

The company expects 2010 earnings of $2.35 to $2.50 per share.

Wabtec acquired Ontario-based Unifin International, a cooling systems manufacturer, in October 2009 for $93 million.

Wabtec shares closed Monday at $42.77, up 17 cents from Friday trading.

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