Rail supplier updates from L.B. Foster, Progress Rail, NRC and Interfleet (Dec. 13)

L.B. Foster Co. announced it obtained a multi-year contract extension from Union Pacific Railroad for the supply of prestressed concrete ties from its Tucson, Ariz., plant. The previous contract was set to expire on Dec. 31. The extension follows an agreement the two parties reached "on a path forward for handling warranty claims on concrete ties previously made at [L.B. Foster's] Grand Island facility, which closed in 2011," L.B. Foster officials said in a prepared statement. The supplier had been providing regular updates on its progress with UP regarding its claims, they said. The contract extension also will help the company pay for additional engineering and development in concrete tie design, L.B. Foster officials said.

Caterpillar Inc. subsidiary Progress Rail Services has purchased the mobile welding assets of RibbonWeld L.L.C. As part of the purchase, Progress Rail will acquire all mobile flash-butt welding equipment and a continuous-welded rail train. The assets will become part of Progress Rail subsidiary Chemetron Railway Products Inc. RibbonWeld will continue to provide in-plant rail welding services at its plant in Springfield, Mo.

The National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) recently elected three new members to its board: Joe Daloisio, track division manager of Railroad Construction Co. Inc.; Scott Goehri, senior vice president and global director of freight railroads at HDR Engineering Inc.; and Daniel Stout, vice president of STX Railroad Construction Services. The board also reelected the following incumbents: Danny Brown, corporate equipment manager at RailWorks Corp.; Clayton Gilliland, senior project manager at Stacy and Witbeck Inc.; and Dave Minor, vice president at A&K Railroad Materials Inc.

Interfleet Technology has named Richard George managing director to succeed David Rollin, who recently retired after nearly 20 years at the firm's helm. George will begin his new position in late February. Most recently, George served as director of transport for the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Prior to joining the Olympic committee, he was director of First Class Partnerships, a strategic rail consulting firm. He also spent three years as High Speed 1 project director for Eurostar.