Railway Track & Structures - October 2008 - (Page 9)

to shave rail pieces into the angles and forms needed. These operations have been added over the years to the core business, which is dismantling, reclaiming and reselling old railroad track. Knoxville is the headquarters for the company, and forms the bottom point of a triangle in the eastern U.S. with the Chicago and Williamsport locations. Unitrac not long ago acquired Donovan EDH and Trackwork Solutions. Donovan EDH and Trackwork Solutions, based in Danvers, Ill., are a strategic addition to Unitrac’s business model. D.E.T.S. became the leader in the explosive depth hardening industry by developing the safest, most-reliable Explosive Depth Hardening process available, Unitrac points out. The Donovan process incorporates the use of the patented Donovan Blast Chamber, which allows hardening operations to take place in an enclosed blast containment unit. Unlike many “open-air” or submerged processes, the Donovan process protects the product and the workers from the environment and allows continuous operation year around. July crosstie report Purchasers bought the number of ties produced in July so that inventory was reduced minimally. From the prior month, production increased 11 percent, while purchases dropped 14 percent, the first decline since April. Year-to-date market data. Production moved up three percent compared to the same time period this past year and purchases are up 25 percent. Purchases have exceeded production since February. Annual market data. Production has been rather stable for the past year at around 21 million ties. Purchases cooled off a bit recently and are calculated to be about 22.7 million ties. Perhaps the most significant recent development is the reduction in inventories, which have reached their lowest level since August 2005. Ties are down 10 percent, or by 1.6 million, during that period. This is confirmed by the inventory-to-sales ratio, which at 0.65 has plummeted to its lowest reading since September 1998. Copyright RTA, 2008 UP wins 2008 Hay award, endows Wimmer scholarship AREMA Treasurer Michael Franke, chairman of AREMA’s Hay Award Committee, presented the 2008 William W. Hay Award for Engineering Excellence to Union Pacific for the Grant Tower Realignment Project completed in Salt Lake City in 2007. Named after long-time University of Illinois Professor of Railway Engineering William Hay, the award was presented September 22 during the AREMA Annual Conference in Salt Lake City. The $60-million project, a publicprivate partnership with the city and Utah Transit Authority, smoothed the flow of trains through the City and eliminated a congested area of track downtown. In another story, the Union Pacific Foundation donated $50,000 to the AREMA Educational Foundation to establish a scholarship named for William Wimmer, who will be retiring soon as UP’s chief engineer. www.rtands.com Railway Track & Structures October 2008 9 http://www.rtands.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Railway Track & Structures - October 2008

Railway Track & Structures - October 2008 Contents On Track Industry Today Supplier News AREMA News NRC News TTCI R&D Railroads Building Solid Foundation for More Capacity with Crossties Safety in High Density Areas M/W Challenges: CN Places New Bridge in Only Six Hours Products and Literature People Calendar Website Directory Advertisers Index Sales Representatives Professional Directory Classified Advertising Chicago Perspective

Railway Track & Structures - October 2008

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