Supply Side: Pandrol, TRAC Intermodal

Pandrol’s under tie pads are manufactured using about 5 pounds (or 2.3 kilograms) of end-of-life tires per tie, which the company said produces “a carbon footprint that is less than half of the same product using virgin material.” It noted that “[e]very kilometer of railway track installed with Pandrol’s Under Sleeper [tie] Pads saves 3,000 tires from landfill or burning.”

Global rail fastening supplier Pandrol has received a CO2-neutral label for its under tie pads. Also, marine chassis pool manager and equipment provider TRAC Intermodal has partnered American Made Chassis (AMC) to boost its fleet of 40-foot chassis.

Pandrol’s under tie pads are manufactured using about 5 pounds (or 2.3 kilograms) of end-of-life tires per tie, which the company said produces “a carbon footprint that is less than half of the same product using virgin material.” It noted that “[e]very kilometer of railway track installed with Pandrol’s Under Sleeper [tie] Pads saves 3,000 tires from landfill or burning.”

To help reduce the impact of remaining CO2 emissions from under tie pad production, the company said that it is “financing labeled green energy production projects in developing countries.”

Due to such measures, Pandrol reported on March 18 that its under tie pads have been verified as CO2 neutral by Belgian-accredited inspection and certification organization Vinçotte.

“Last year, we took action to understand the carbon footprint of the Pandrol SRS [Sustainable Resilient Systems] products, conducting a full Life Cycle Assessment,” said Thomas Lorent, Head SRS at Pandrol. “Since then, we have taken action to reduce our environmental footprint for the products which can be most improved. This change will limit the carbon impact of our Under Sleeper Pads, allowing us to reduce our footprint and support certified climate projects at the same time to ‘offset’ our remaining low CO2 footprint.”

TRAC and AMC, an alliance of LB Steel and Integrated Industries, have teamed to develop a new chassis. Under their agreement, LB Steel is building frames for the new chassis, and Integrated Industries is blasting, painting and installing all equipment components at its Dixmoor, Ill., facility. TRAC said that its “procurement of these chassis aligns with its strategic objective of partnering with key manufacturers in North America to build high-quality chassis. The AMC chassis capacity will complement TRAC’s core manufacturer capacity.”

“TRAC Intermodal continues to invest record amounts of capital to supply our customers’ continued growth and expansion,” TRAC Intermodal President and CEO Daniel Walsh said. “To support this, TRAC is eager to expand our long-term partnership with proven, high-quality manufacturers such as AMC who are perfectly positioned to help us increase our fleet, maintain market leadership and keep commerce flowing.”