Mervis Industries creates new division

Mervis Industries, headquartered in Danville, Illinois, has opened a new division called Mervis Railcar in Hutchison, Kansas that will refurbish railcars, especially tank cars.

 

The company says it is investing $35 million in the new facility, which will be one of only two in the nation capable of servicing trains with 100 or more cars. Mervis says it expects to employ 150 people, primarily welders, at the facility within three years. Mervis Railcar will include four buildings and more than 20,000 feet of railroad track. 

 

Adam Mervis, CEO of Mervis Industries, says the company expects to start construction of the facility by May 2015and hopes to have start working on tank cars by the second quarter or 2016. 

 

Mervis Railcar will provide industrial railcar refurbishing services to the oil, fuel, agricultural and other rail-using industries. The recent growth in oil and fuel transportation by rail has increased the need for maintenance services, including cleaning, painting and weld repairs, the company says. 

 

“Hutchinson had the critical components that we needed: excellent rail connections, an available workforce with a strong work ethic, a convenient central location and a high-quality educational system focused on providing the training necessary for the skilled industrial jobs that we will need to fill,” says Mervis. 

 

Assisting Mervis Industries with the project has been the Kansas State Department of Commerce and the Kansas Department of Transportation. 

 

“Mervis chose Kansas as the best place to build its new facility because we have a skilled workforce and excellent infrastructure,” says Gov. Sam Brownback. “The company’s investment in Hutchinson will contribute to our state’s continued strong economic growth.” 

 

“The car shop is the largest investment that my family has ever made and is one into which we have put extensive thought and research,” Mervis adds. “The rapid expansion of the shipment of liquids by rail; the failure of the railcar repair industry to meet the growing demand for maintenance, lining and modifications services; and the increasing governmental regulation of the tank car industry all make this an excellent opportunity to expand our existing customer relationships and portfolio of railcar services into a new but related area.” 

 

Mervis says the new division is the largest investment for his company, which is a traditional scrap metal recycling firm. While a great amount of uncertainty remains over the impact that regulations from both U.S. and Canadian agencies will have on the rail refurbishing business, at present few companies are able to handle large tank car shipments, something Mervis says the new facility can accommodate.

 

Additionally, Mervis Industries says there may be opportunities to use its recycling expertise at the new division. If needed, the company can provide reconditioned castings to the refurbished railcars. Also, for those railcars that are not able to be refurbished, Mervis Industries will be able to handle both cleanup and scrapping at the site.