We and our predecessors have been manufacturing railcars since 1901. We believe
we are the leading manufacturer of aluminum-bodied railcars and coal cars in
North America, based on the number of railcars delivered. Our BethGon® railcar
has been the leading aluminum-bodied coal car sold in North America for over
20 years. Over the last 25 years, we believe we have built and introduced more
types of coal cars than all other manufacturers in North America combined. The
balance of our production consisted of a broad spectrum of railcar types that
transport non-liquid commodities and products.
Our railcar manufacturing facilities are located in Cherokee, Alabama (“Shoals”),
Danville, Illinois and Roanoke, Virginia. Our Shoals facility is an important
part of our long-term growth strategy as we continue to expand our railcar product
and service offerings outside of our traditional coal car market. While our
Danville and Roanoke facilities will continue to support our coal car products,
we believe the Shoals facility will allow us to produce a broader variety of
railcars in a cost-effective and efficient manner.
We also refurbish and rebuild railcars and sell forged, cast and fabricated
parts for all of the railcars we produce, as well as those manufactured by others.
FreightCar Rail Services, LLC (“FCRS”) provides railcar repair and
maintenance and inspections for all types of freight railcars. FCRS has repair
and maintenance and inspection facilities in Grand Island, Nebraska and Hastings,
Nebraska and services freight cars and unit coal trains utilizing key rail corridors
in the Midwest and Western regions of the United States. As part of our strategic
initiative to improve the contribution of the services business to our results
of operations, management evaluated the long-term profitability of each of our
railcar maintenance and repair shops during the fourth quarter of 2013 and decided
to close our underperforming maintenance and repair shop in Clinton, Indiana.
During the third quarter of 2014, those repair shop assets were sold to a strategic
buyer. We also lease freight cars through our JAIX Leasing Company subsidiary.
We design and manufacture a broad variety of freight cars including covered
hoppers, open top hoppers, gondolas, boxcars, intermodal and non-intermodal
flat cars that transport numerous types of dry bulk and containerized freight
products.
We have railcar production facilities in Cherokee, Alabama, Danville, Illinois
and Roanoke, Virginia. Our facilities are each certified or approved for certification
by the Association of American Railroads (the “AAR”), which sets
railcar manufacturing industry standards for quality control. Our Shoals manufacturing
facility delivered its first railcars during the fourth quarter of 2013 and
provides a solid platform from which to pursue a broad range of non-coal car
business including intermodal well cars, non-intermodal flat cars and various
open-top hopper, covered hopper and gondola cars.
Our manufacturing process involves four basic steps: fabrication, assembly,
finishing and inspection. Each of our facilities has numerous checkpoints at
which we inspect products to maintain quality control, a process that our operations
management continuously monitors. In our fabrication processes, we employ standard
metal working tools, many of which are computer controlled. Each assembly line
typically involves 15 to 20 manufacturing positions, depending on the complexity
of the particular railcar design. We use mechanical fastening in the fitting
and assembly of our aluminum-bodied railcar parts, while we typically use welding
for the assembly of our steel-bodied railcars. For aluminum-bodied railcars,
we begin the finishing process by cleaning the railcar’s surface and then
applying the decals. In the case of steel-bodied railcars, we begin the finishing
process by blasting the surface area of the railcar, painting it and then applying
decals. Once we have completed the finishing process, our employees, along with
representatives of the customer purchasing the particular railcars, inspect
all railcars for adherence to specifications.
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