6/20/2012

Railroading Supplier Spotlight Article
Rail supplier updates from Boatright, Racine Railroad and Lat-Lon (June 20)

•   Boatright Cos. is building a crosstie plant in Chilton County, Ala., a $55 million investment that includes plans to employ 100 workers there by the end of next year, according to a company news release. The 400,000-square-foot plant will be built on 100 acres in the county’s industrial park, located on a CSX Transportation rail line. The facility will enable Boatright to more than double its current tie production capacity. The plant will have the capacity to season, treat and distribute up to 2 million railroad ties annually.

•   Racine Railroad Products Inc. will undertake a building acquisition and workforce expansion at its new location in Mount Pleasant, Wis., the Racine County Economic Development Corp. announced in a press release. Demand for the company’s primary products has shifted from smaller equipment to larger, single-operator railway maintenance equipment, which necessitated a new plant to accommodate both types of equipment, said Racine Railroad President Stephen Birkholz in a prepared statement. The company’s project was eligible for $620,000 in tax credits through the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., $49,000 in job-training grants from the Racine County Workforce Development Board and $300,000 in tax reinvestment program financing assistance from the village of Mount Pleasant.

•   Lat-Lon L.L.C. has been awarded the Gold Value Chain Award in Fleet Management from Connected World Magazine. The award was presented recently at the annual Connected World Conference in St. Charles, Ill., “to distinguish the most successful corporate adopters of M2M technology and connected devices,” according to a company press release. The company was recognized for its innovative approach to tracking and monitoring cargo and equipment with its wireless, self-contained Solar Powered Tracking Unit.