A railroad car repair shop that was earlier closed in Danville is going to re-open under new ownership. The Andersons, Inc. have announced it has signed an agreement to purchase the Danville Railcar Facility from FreightCar America, Inc.
The Andersons told VermilionCountyFirst.com News it intends to turn the former freight car manufacturing plant into a full-service freight and tank car repair shop. Katelin Langenderfer, Corporate Communications Manager for The Andersons, says there is no firm count yet on how many new jobs will be created. She also noted the company has no other rail car repair shops in Illinois, but does have one in Jeffersonville, Indiana.
‘’We are excited to add the Danville facility to our repair network,’’ said Sam Anderson, Vice President of Operations for The Andersons Rail Group. He says Danville will be the Rail Group’s 21st shop in the United States, strategically located in the high-volume Midwest rail transportation corridor.
The purchase is expected to close this month. The Andersons expects the rail shop to be operational in the fourth quarter of this year.
The Andersons Rail Group will provide a wide range of services at its new location in Danville, including railcar repair, painting, blasting, tank car certification and scrapping.
The Andersons Rail Group provides a variety of services to the rail industry. It repairs, sells, manages and leases a fleet of nearly 23,000 various types of railcars and locomotives. The group has railcar repair facilities across the country. It also offers fleet management services to private railcar owners and operates a custom steel fabrication business.
