Wood-tie treaters forecast growth in 2019

By Daniel Niepow, Associate Editor

If the market for wood-tie suppliers is uncertain, things aren’t much clearer among the wood-tie treatment set. Still, wood-tie treaters are holding out hope for the coming year.

“We are projecting continued growth for 2019, even though tie shortages may continue into 2019,” said Kevin Kirkland, chief executive officer and president of Nisus Corp., which provides copper naphthenate treatments under the QNAP® brand. “The shift of railroads to dual treatment of ties and bridge ties will continue supporting that growth.”

This year, the company reports a high single-digit growth rate for its QNAP copper naphthenate and Cellutreat® liquid borate products, which are used to preserve ties. Five Class Is have incorporated one of those products into their tie or bridge programs, added Ken Laughlin, division vice president of wood preservation at Nisus.

Additionally in 2018, Nisus boosted production capacity and expanded the storage capacity of its tank farm to allow for increased levels of raw materials and finished product. The company has three additional tanker trucks to handle more product delivery, Kirkland said.

“Future improvements include additional equipment for loading and offloading liquids from rail cars and a new dry storage facility,” he said.

At Lonza Wood Protection, business has remained consistent in 2018, said Industrial Product Specialist Tim Carey. But for 2019, tariffs could have an impact on the company.

“The biggest potential to affect business next year are the tariffs that may or may not be put in place. Depending on how long they are in place, they could affect business beyond 2019,” Carey said.

In the interim, both companies are forging ahead with new and updated products. For instance, Lonza has developed a new product called FireSheath WFS Net, which is an intumescent coated hardware cloth that aims to slow the spread of fire in structures, particularly bridges.

With the ongoing wildfires in the western United States, the company has observed “a lot of interest from railroads and utilities” for the product, Carey said.

Nisus also is rolling out newly developed on-track equipment to perform remedial work on existing bridge ties with Cellutreat liquid borate treatments. The company is collaborating with East Coast Right of Way Maintenance Inc. on that effort, Kirkland said.

And, for many Class Is, dual-treating ties with Cellutreat liquid borate and either creosote or QNAP copper naphthenate is becoming the standard, added Canon McDonald, Nisus’ eastern regional sales manager of wood preservation.