LAKE OSWEGO, Ore., Feb. 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Greenbrier
Companies, Inc. (NYSE: GBX) today proudly announced the production
of its 100,000th intermodal double stack unit in
January. This milestone achievement began more than 32 years
ago at Greenbrier's flagship production and design facility,
Gunderson LLC, based in Portland,
Oregon.
"Gunderson has been a pioneer in railcar design since
Greenbrier's 1985 acquisition of this legendary manufacturing
facility in operation since 1919. Building 100,000 intermodal
double stack units is a significant achievement for
Greenbrier. It is the result of years of hard work and
dedication provided by our American workforce at Gunderson, which
includes many employees who have worked in this facility in
Portland for multiple decades,"
said William A. Furman, Chairman and
CEO. "Greenbrier's manufacturing history began with the
intermodal double stack railcar at Gunderson in 1985.
Greenbrier is proud to build intermodal double stack railcars
in America – work that supports more than 1,000 highly-skilled jobs
in Portland."
Greenbrier spearheaded the design of double stack railcars which
were introduced in North America
in the mid-1980s to haul intermodal containers. Double stack
technology revolutionized long distance freight transportation by
railroads. Using double stack technology, a freight train of a
given length can carry roughly twice as many containers, sharply
reducing costs per container. These cars are used for nearly 70% of
all U.S. intermodal shipments. Greenbrier produces nearly
twice the number of intermodal double stack railcars than its
closest competitor and has built approximately 50% of all
intermodal double stack railcars operating globally.
Greenbrier has evolved and innovated from a railcar builder
with a single product offering to a global manufacturer that now
provides numerous railcar products and aftermarket solutions to
support the transportation needs of thousands of customers, today
on four continents.
Furman added, "The 100,000th intermodal double stack
unit is a considerable advancement from the first model built; the
result of continuous innovation at Greenbrier. Since 1985,
Greenbrier has developed 13 unique designs for intermodal double
stack railcars; all to streamline containerized shipping. Our
current Maxi-Stack design is an example of Greenbrier's unwavering
dedication to supplying the safest and most efficient railcars in
the industry."
"This is a rewarding milestone for Greenbrier and the
hard-working team here at Gunderson," said Mark Eitzen, Senior Vice President and General
Manager at Gunderson. "I am proud of all our team members and
appreciate the continued support of our suppliers and
customers. We are also pleased to regularly receive quality
awards for our intermodal railcars from our leading customer, TTX
Company, a top provider of railcars to the North American rail
industry. Our success is linked to the railroad industry's
goal to realize substantial financial and environmental savings –
our 100,000 intermodal double stack railcars save 15.5 billion
truck miles each year resulting in lower emissions and reduced road
traffic."
"We are fortunate to have employers like Gunderson in our
City," said Mayor Ted Wheeler of
Portland, Oregon. "I congratulate
all at Gunderson and Greenbrier on the production of their
100,000th intermodal double stack unit and I look
forward to their continued success."
About Greenbrier
Greenbrier (www.gbrx.com),
headquartered in Lake Oswego, Oregon, is a leading international supplier of
equipment and services to the freight rail transportation markets.
Greenbrier designs, builds and markets freight railcars
in North America and Europe, we build freight
railcars and rail castings in Brazil through a strategic
partnership, and build and market marine barges in North
America. Through our European manufacturing operations, we recently
began delivery of US-designed tank cars in Saudi Arabia.
In October 2016, we entered into an agreement with Astra Rail
Management GmbH to form a new company, Greenbrier-Astra Rail, which
will create an end-to-end, Europe-based freight railcar
manufacturing, engineering and repair business. We expect this
combination will be completed during 2017. We are a leading
provider of wheel services, parts, leasing and other services to
the railroad and related transportation industries in North
America and a provider of freight railcar repair,
refurbishment and retrofitting services in North
America through a joint venture partnership with Watco
Companies, LLC. Through other joint ventures we produce rail
castings, tank heads and other railcar components. Greenbrier owns
a lease fleet of over 8,500 railcars and performs management
services for over 265,000 railcars.
About Gunderson LLC
Established in 1919 as a heavy
steel fabricator, Gunderson has been a ship and marine barge
builder since 1942. It entered the new freight railcar
construction market in the early 1960s. Greenbrier acquired the
Gunderson facility from FMC Corporation in 1985. Operations
have expanded dramatically over three decades of Greenbrier
ownership with substantial investment in facility enhancements and
lean manufacturing efficiencies. Currently, Gunderson employs
more than 1,000 workers in highly-skilled manufacturing jobs,
global sourcing operations positions as well as engineering and
design professionals and other operational support functions.
Located on 75 acres along the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, Gunderson is accessible
year-round by ocean-going vessels and two transcontinental
railroads, BNSF Railway Company and Union Pacific Railroad.
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/greenbrier-achieves-milestone-builds-100000th-intermodal-double-stack-unit-at-us-manufacturing-facility-300411373.html
SOURCE The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (GBX)