ARS acquires FreightCar America’s repair and maintenance services business
Written by Carolina Worrell, Senior Editor
Appalachian Railcar Services, Inc. (ARS) announced Sept. 30, 2015 that its wholly-owned subsidiary, ARS Nebraska, LLC, has acquired all of FreightCar America, Inc.’s railcar repair and maintenance services business.
ARS’s President and CEO Kurt Higginbotham, said, “The acquisition of FreightCar America’s railcar repair and maintenance services business is a great moment in our company’s history. By bringing these FCA operations into our portfolio, we will greatly expand our customer base and open up tremendous opportunities for the future.”
This latest acquisition by ARS further solidifies ARS’s aggressive growth plans, the company says. In December of 2014, ARS acquired BRC Rail Car Service Company based in Lynchburg, Va., which enabled the company to participate in the tank car service industry. With the addition of FCA, ARS will be adding 125 employees, five physical locations, 22 miles of rail, a five-mile short line operation, and direct connections with the Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railroad (BNSF) and the Union Pacific Railroad (UP). Since 2000, ARS has grown from a single service rail operation in West Virginia only to a multi-service rail enterprise offering services in fifteen states. Services include railcar repair and maintenance, coal loading and unloading, train handling, industrial switching, trans-loading, railcar storage, and buying, selling and leasing of railcars.
Steptoe & Johnson PLLC served as ARS’s legal counsel on the transaction.
