Railway Track & Structures - June 2008 - (Page 53)

existing product lines and develop innovative new products to meet the evolving needs of their customers,” Stout said. Anchor update “For 2008, indications are the rail anchor and track spike market continues to remain stable,” said Gerry Clark, vice president and general manager of Portec Rail’s Montreal operation. “Although the general economy in North America is in a slowdown, quickly rising fuel costs mean shipping by railroad makes more sense than ever. Railroads need to spend on infrastructure improvements to handle the increased business. “On the manufacturing side, we have concluded our $1million-plus capital investment project at our manufacturing facility that included replacing our gas-fired furnace with a more-efficient induction furnace,” Clark said. “Once again, the main issue we are facing is in the cost of raw material. The steel industry is in a state of turmoil and prices are escalating at unprecedented rates. Portec Rail’s ongoing efforts are in the area of continuing to manage costs. Additional efforts are directed towards increasing productivity, reducing down time and in R&D.” UNIT Rail Anchor Company has developed a product for use in concrete tie track called the ISOLATOR™. This product combines a UNIT drive-on rail anchor with a plastic anti-friction appliance that fits the shoulder profile of concrete ties. “Freight railroads experience longitudinal movement of rail once the resilient fastener/insulator system begins to lose toe-load, resulting in running rail and accelerated rail seat abrasion,” said Joe Balich, UNIT sales manager. “Adding ISOLATORs™ provides protection against rail movement, especially at critical areas such as turnouts, switches, insulated joints and bridge lead-ins.” The ISOLATOR Anchor is already being installed in new concrete tie track by a major Class 1 railroad to help prevent this problem. UNIT is also preparing to conduct accelerated lab testing to determine the ISOLATOR’s effectiveness in retarding rail seat abrasion on old and repaired concrete ties. ISOLATOR Anchors are applied by hand or by modified automated anchor equipment. UNIT also manufactures a rail anchor designed for use in concrete switch ties and a special extra-deep-bearing bridge anchor that is used to anchor wood tie bridges with thicker tie plates. “The fastener market is remaining strong for most manufacturers,” Balich said. “UNIT is entering its third consecutive year of record sales, due largely to the aggressive track-improvement and capacity-expansion programs of all the Class 1s and the corresponding improvements by many regionals and shortlines. We are also experiencing greatly increased international business. UNIT is in an excellent position to continue to handle growing business levels because of the many improvements and production initiatives implemented over the past 10 years. We invested heavily in plant efficiency and updated equipment well ahead of the increased demand. Now it is paying off for our customers and for us.” UNIT Rail Anchor Company, a division of Amsted Rail, is an ISO9001 and AAR M-1003 Certified Manufacturer. www.rtands.com Railway Track & Structures June 2008 53 http://www.rtands.com

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Railway Track & Structures - June 2008 Contents On Track Industry Today Supplier News AREMA News NRC News TTCI R&D Grade Crossings Provide Interface Between Railroads, Public Grade-Crossing Equipment & Materials Guide Fastener Suppliers Getting a Grip Grinding Plays Part in Rail Maintenance Big Picture Products and Literature People Calendar Sales Representatives Website Directory Advertisers Index Professional Directory Classified Advertising Chicago Perspective

Railway Track & Structures - June 2008

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