USA: Following a multi-state search, the Mervis Railcar division of recycling company Mervis Industries has selected Hutchinson, Kansas, as the site for a $35m wagon refurbishment plant to serve the oil, fuel, agricultural and other industries.
Announcing its decision on October 30, the company said the Hutchinson site would ‘be one of only two facilities in the nation capable of receiving and servicing a unit train of 100 or more cars’. The company expects to employ 150 people at the site within three years, with the majority being skilled welders.
‘The car shop is the largest investment that my family has ever made and is one into which we have put extensive thought and research,’ said Adam Mervis, CEO of Mervis Industries. ‘The rapid expansion of the shipment of liquids by rail, the failure of the railcar repair industry to meet the growing demand for maintenance, lining and modifications services, and the increasing governmental regulation of the tank car industry all make this an excellent opportunity to expand our existing customer relationships and portfolio of railcar services into a new but related area.’
