Rail is a crucial part of IKO's new manufacturing plants
7/15/2025
By Jeff Stagl, Managing Editor
A global roofing, waterproofing and insulation company is establishing another manufacturing facility in the United States to support its growth plans — with an assist from rail.
IKO Group of Companies broke ground in late June for a 220,000-square-foot granule manufacturing facility in Bismarck, Missouri. Slated to open in late 2026, the more than $120 million facility will be operated by IKO subsidiary Bismarck Granules Inc.
The plant — which will supply granules to IKO's shingle plants throughout the southern United States — will feature storage domes and a dedicated rail area. The facility will be served by Union Pacific Railroad, says IKO Director of Consumer and Corporate Affairs Derek Fee.
“Depending on where the product goes after it leaves the site and the destination, there are other railroads that will be involved, which might include either CSX or Norfolk Southern Railway,” he says.
A family-owned business established in 1951, IKO operates more than 35 manufacturing plants throughout North America and Europe, including 11 in the United States and 10 in Canada. And essentially all of the North American plants are rail served, says Fee.
“It’s generally a prerequisite when we are looking for a new manufacturing site that it have both easy access to major highways as well as railway access,” he says. “Rail is a significant component of our logistics operationally, whether it be for material shipping of components — such as asphalt or granules — or in some cases for finished goods.”
IKO chose the Bismarck site for the new plant because of the city’s highly skilled workforce, strategic central location, and interstate highway and rail connectivity.
"Bismarck offers the right combination of location and resources to support our long-term goals. This site will play a key role in enhancing supply chain efficiency and helping us meet the growing needs of our U.S. manufacturing network,” said David Koschitzky, CEO of IKO North America, in a press release.
IKO is building a $270 million campus in Clay County, Florida, near Jacksonville that will include an asphalt shingle production facility and be served by CSX. IKO Group of CompaniesBismarck Granules plans to hire more than 50 people for the new facility and establish a quarry nearby to support the operation.
Meanwhile, IKO is developing facilities in other states that involve rail. In South Carolina, the company is constructing two new fiberglass manufacturing plants in Chester County that are slated to open in late 2025. The more than $360 million project includes a new fiberglass manufacturing facility and a 325,000-square-foot fiberglass mat plant.
Glass mat is a key component in asphalt shingle production, and the mat plant will supply IKO's growing network of shingle manufacturing sites in the United States.
The new facilities will have access to the Lancaster and Chester Railroad, a 62-mile short line owned by Gulf & Ohio Railway Inc. that operates in Chester and Lancaster counties and interchanges with CSX and NS. However, a rail connection hasn’t yet been formalized, says Fee.
“As the plant hasn’t achieved commissioning at the moment, [we don’t] presently have information on the prospective rail partner,” he says.
In addition, IKO is building a $270 million manufacturing campus in Clay County, Florida, near Jacksonville that will include an asphalt shingle production facility, insulation board plant and commercial rolled roofing plant.
Totaling 300,000 square feet, the facilities will open in the fourth quarter and be served by CSX.
Moreover, IKO recently completed a residential metal roofing plant in Ennis, Texas. The $40 million facility — which will produce metal tile, shingle and shake roofing products — will open in mid-July.
A $45 million plant the company is developing in Brantford, Ontario, will manufacture extruded polystyrene insulation (shown)IKO Group of Companies“Ennis presently does not have rail access, but does have a right of way for us to construct a siding should we require it,” says Fee. “The present plan leaves us flexibility for rail, but it is not part of the initial phase of the plant’s launch.”
In Canada, IKO is developing an insulation manufacturing facility in Brantford, Ontario. The $45 million plant will manufacture extruded polystyrene insulation (XPS) and serve IKO customers throughout Canada and the northeastern United States.
IKO already operates similar insulation facilities in Ontario, Alberta and Maryland, but the Brantford plant will be the company’s first to produce XPS.
Currently, no specific plant opening date has been set.
“There have been delays in the commencement of the XPS plant in Brantford, so it will not be commissioned this year,” says Fee.
IKO hasn’t yet determined a rail connection for the new plant, either.
“Brantford is still very much a nascent project, so the rail partner has not yet come up as a business discussion, and it’s not clear what the needs will be given the nature of the product that will be manufactured there,” says Fee.
