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11/17/2025
Compiled by Julie Sneider, Senior Editor
Holland is consistently innovating rail welding technologies and applications, company officials said in an email.
When remediating and repairing rail defects, Holland’s short plug repair welding gangs utilize 5-foot plugs, employing two pieces of equipment and a total of four employees, including railroad and Holland staff.
Holland has performed over 1,000 short-plug repair welds on various railways, including multiple Class Is, since 2020 with Holland’s fleet of over 200 MobileWelders across North America. One four-man crew can match the efficiency of three thermite crews, company officials said.
Benefits to using flash-butt welding versus thermite include no weld filler material, consistent hardness and faster installation, according to Holland.
Holland also has innovated the Hybrid Welder™, which performs high-quality, low consumption flash-butt welds with a battery-powered welder head in a more sustainable package. Shane Mayhill, Holland’s general manager of welding technology, will present his paper on battery electrification of the flash-butt rail welding process at the International Heavy Haul Association Conference to be held this month in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Most recently, Holland has acquired key products, technologies and intellectual property from ARR Rail Solutions Ltd. The acquisition bolsters Holland’s position by expanding its welding portfolio with new automated technologies and additive manufacturing capabilities for defect remediation and the restoration of special trackwork, company officials said.
Holland will integrate ARR Rail Solutions technologies and engineering expertise into its global welding portfolio, enhancing offerings in mobile welding, automated rail repair and component restoration.
As a provider of rail industry construction and maintenance services, RailWorks is one of the largest providers of flash-butt welding services to the rail industry in North America, according to the company.
RailWorks is the only flash-butt service provider to offer the narrow head welder with capabilities to weld within the frog and point sections of a turnout, company officials said. The narrow head welder platform uses an articulated knuckle crane that enables greater access in or out of track.
This process allows for more efficient and effective construction, installation and maintenance of turnouts. It has proven positive impacts on safety, decreasing costs and increasing longevity of the asset, RailWorks officials said.
The company also is coupling the ever increasing and improving field of automation, predictive analytics and remote monitoring with its widest variety of flash-butt welding capabilities.
Leveraging all of those factors together ensures that RailWorks can meet market demands and propel clients into the future of the rail industry, company officials said.