National Railway Equipment Co. now 100% employee-owned
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief
National Railway Equipment Co., headquartered in Mount Vernon, Ill., has completed transfer of the company to the newly formed NRE–Global Holdings Inc. (NRE), an Employee Stock Ownership Trust (ESOP). As part of an ongoing branding campaign, the company will simply be called NRE.
NRE, a family-owned corporation since its inception in 1984 by founder Lawrence J. Beal, enlisted Chicago based American Working Capital (AWC) to work with the Beal family “to design and implement a customized ESOP structure to ensure NRE’s continued financial flexibility, strength, and leadership by its CEO, Steven L. Beal and executive management team,” the company said.
“From the time my father started this company, it has always been our intention to remain a privately held business,” said Steven Beal. “This ESOP transaction allows us to achieve several goals all at once: to reward the employees who have worked so hard to build NRE with a stake in its future growth, and to continue our legacy as a privately owned company. Additionally, our executive management team, which guided the business through the recent recession and onto its current growth trajectory, will remain in day-to-day control of the company. We are able to accomplish something for our entire company, family, and all of our employees for years to come. We feel this will help create a corporate culture for NRE that will allow us to retain our talented workforce, while providing incentive to come and be a part of the NRE family.”
NRE is a vertically integrated provider of new and remanufactured locomotives for sale or lease, third-party locomotive and marine engine overhaul and maintenance services, and locomotive parts and components. Since its inception in 1984, NRE has grown to encompass 14 North American and four international facilities and affiliates, making it the world’s largest independent supplier of leased locomotives, new and remanufactured locomotives, new and rebuilt mechanical materials, electrical components, technical support, and field services.
NRE will continue in the business of selling, rebuilding, leasing, and servicing railway equipment, and is the exclusive developer of the N-ViroMotive, which it describes as “the leading Environmental Protection Agency Tier II, III and IV certified locomotive featuring advances in the reduction of emissions, noise, and fuel consumption.”
“The Beal family and our executive management team are proud to announce that we are 100% employee-owned and we look forward to sharing our continued success with our 1,000 employees and customers across the globe that work to make NRE what it is today,” Beal said. “While we are very proud of our heritage and where we came from, we are looking forward to continuing on a path as a team and a family.”
