Supply Side: Snyder Equipment, VHB

“Our manufacturing operations are North American based, serving the needs of the freight and passenger rail industry,” NYAB President and CEO Ulisses Camilo said. “The new Springfield, Mo., center [for the Snyder Equipment division; pictured] is one more way we continue to address customer demand at the highest level possible today and tomorrow. (NYAB Photograph)

Snyder Equipment, a division of New York Air Brake (NYAB), celebrates a new manufacturing center in Springfield, Mo. Also, VHB opens a larger office in Newark, N.J.

Snyder Equipment

Snyder Equipment on Dec. 7 held a grand opening event for its new Springfield, Mo., facility, which parent company NYAB said is focused on the development, testing, manufacturing, and repair/remanufacturing of fueling systems, service track, and wayside equipment for the “efficient servicing” of locomotives. NYAB, which acquired Snyder in 2019, also has manufacturing plants in Acuña, Mexico; Salisbury, N.C.; and West Chicago, Ill., in addition to its headquarters in Watertown, N.Y.

Snyder Equipment celebrated with its employees, as well as members of NYAB’s senior leadership team, NYAB business leaders, state and local legislators, and economic development representatives, as well as Nicolas Lange, the head of global rail business from NYAB’s parent company, Munich, Germany-based Knorr-Bremse.

More than 140 people work at the expanded and consolidated 147,000-square-foot Springfield facility on West Junction Road; they previously occupied what grew to be eight buildings split between two locations in Wheatland and Nixa, Mo.

According to NYAB, the Springfield location features “optimized ceiling height, new LED lighting to reduce energy consumption, multiple truck bays, and enhancements to building safety systems,” and is fully air conditioned.

“Our manufacturing operations are North American based, serving the needs of the freight and passenger rail industry,” NYAB President and CEO Ulisses Camilo said. “The new Springfield center is one more way we continue to address customer demand at the highest level possible today and tomorrow. Snyder is very pleased to be a part of this vibrant community. The Springfield Metropolitan area and Greene County offers the perfect combination—enhanced proximity to our customers, access to major transportation lanes in the country’s heartland, and a strong employment base—that will help us continue to expand. We look forward to what the future has to offer.”

VHB

VHB on Dec. 11 reported opening a new, larger Newark, N.J., office, which it said represents “a dynamic collaboration” between its New Jersey and New York teams and “paves the way for VHB to stimulate progress across the greater New York metropolitan region.”

VHB Director of Newark Operations Tom Stein said, “We’re excited to bring our experience and passion for innovation to the region on a larger scale, working closely with local stakeholders to shape a future that benefits us all.”

VHB also reported adding James Shao, Director of Traction Power, and Don Zeni, Vertical Transportation Lead, to the Newark team.

The firm said it has been a key player in various New Jersey projects, contributing to the Trans-Hudson Rapid Transit Study, industrial site redevelopments for the City of Newark, and several projects for Princeton University.

VHB also has offices in Connecticut; Washington, D.C.; Virginia; Georgia; Florida; Maine; Maryland; Massachusetts; North Carolina; Vermont; and Rhode Island.

VHB engineers, scientists, planners, and designers are said to partner with clients in the transportation, real est​ate, institutional, and energy industries, as well as federal, state, and local governments “to improve mobility, enhance communities, and balance development and infrastructure needs with environmental stewardship.”