L.B. Foster embarks on Portec integration

On Dec. 16, 2010, after a 10-month process, L.B. Foster Co. completed its acquisition of Portec Rail Products, Inc., thus combining two of the rail industry’s longest-standing suppliers. Both companies are based in Pittsburgh, one of the nation’s original “railroad towns” and home to numerous suppliers. L.B. Foster (www.lbfoster.com) traces its roots back to 1902; Portec (www. portecrail.com) to 1906.

L.B. Foster gains Portec’s lubrication and friction management, track component, load securement, rail failure detection, and material handling technologies. There was only one overlapping product: bonded insulated rail joints, and as a condition of the transaction, Portec spun off its product line to Koppers Inc., another long-standing, Pittsburgh-based railway supplier. L.B. Foster retains its line of Allegheny Rail Products bonded insulated joints, “Toughcoat” insulated joints, insulated tie plates, and accessories.

The process of integrating Portec into L.B. Foster has begun, and it will take several months before it’s completed, L.B. Foster President and CEO Stan Hasselbusch (pictured) told Railway Age. “Portec plays well into our strategic objectives,” he said. “We are now a full-line supplier, and we’ve gained an international reach.” Portec has a strong presence in Europe and Canada, and an emerging presence in China, Australia, and Latin and South America.

Hasselbusch cited as assets Portec’s “successful and highly respected engineering and research and development initiatives,” as well as its ”reputation for excellent customer and field service and support.” Combined with L.B. Foster’s successes in process improvement, Six-Sigma Certification, and Lean Manufacturing, the newly expanded company “brings many overall benefits to the railway industry,” he said.

At this point, said Hasselbusch, Portec’s Kelsan Technologies Corp. (top-of-rail friction control, gauge face/flange lubrication) and Salient Systems Inc. (wayside fault detection, database management, rail friction management) divisions will retain their names. “We fully appreciate the recognition and association with quality products and services the Kelsan (www.kelsan.com) and Salient (www.salientsystems.com) names have in the industry,” he said.

“We’re carefully considering what our strategy will be as far as the Portec name is concerned. We’re not approaching this lightly, so it will take some time,” Hasselbusch said. “Going forward, we’re excited about the prospects for a newly expanded L.B. Foster Co. and are committed to continuing to serve the railway industry in the manner that our customers and Portec’s customers have come to rely upon.”