Greenbrier breaks ground on new wheel shop
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief
Greenbrier Rail Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Greenbrier Companies, on Oct. 7 broke ground in western Nebraska on a new wheel facility.
The $20 million North Platte, Nebraska Area Wheel Facility, which is scheduled to open in January 2012, will supply new and reconditioned freight car wheelsets. Located in Hershey, Neb., a small town on the Union Pacific main line 15 miles west of North Platte, home of UP’s immense Bailey Yard, the facility is expected to generate $60 million in annual revenue and employ 30. The shop will occupy 34 acres and 49,000 square feet, and will be located on UP’s quadruple-track main line. Greenbrier says the shop will be a "state-of-the-art facility, with in-line, highly automated production."
The shop will be Greenbrier’s second facility in Nebraska. The existing one is located in Omaha. Greenbrier Rail Services operates 21 repair shops, 12 wheel and component facilities, and 4 railcar parts manufacturing locations throughout the U.S. and Mexico.
Left to right, at the groundbreaking ceremony: Village of Hershey Mayor Ray Cox, Nebraska Governor David Heineman, Greenbrier Rail Services President Tim Stuckey, and Union Pacific Vice President-Supply Joe O’Connor. Prior to the groundbreaking, Tim Stuckey presented Mayor Cox with a $7,500 contribution to the town’s planned tornado early warning system.
