Rail supplier news from Hanson, Railinc, Bombardier and SIGNET (Aug. 17)

Hanson Professional Services Inc. has acquired Engineered Rail Solutions (ERS) LLC. The acquisition will enable Hanson to assist clients with "every step of their projects," said Hanson Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sergio Pecori in a press release. The companies entered a strategic alliance in December 2016. The partnership brought logistics analytics and program management services to Hanson's rail clients while expanding engineering capabilities for ERS, which was founded in 2013 and has six employees.

Eight of North America's 10 largest third-party logistics (3PL) providers are now using Railinc Corp.'s RailSight intermodal and rail-car data services, software applications and analytics solutions. In addition, 10 of the largest private rail-car fleet owners in North America are using RailSight services, Railinc announced yesterday. Railinc created and developed RailSight as a suite of "data as a service" and "software as a service" cloud-based solutions that provide rail shipment and equipment management data feeds. The software enables users to adapt to changing business conditions and improve business performance with timely shipment location messages, according to the company. RailSight aggregates rail and intermodal container shipment locations from more than 560 railroads across North America.

McCann Canada has been selected as agency partner to lead strategic marketing and communications for Bombardier Inc.'s rail transportation and aerospace businesses. The selection followed a competitive request for proposals process that involved agencies in Canada and around the world. McCann will lead the efforts out of its office in Montreal, where Bombardier's headquarters are located.

SIGNET Electronic Systems Inc. has promoted Greg Sparrow to vice president of transportation solutions. Sparrow joined the company in 2007 as director of systems integration and was promoted to director of project management in 2012. SIGNET in January 2016 was tapped to serve as local communications systems integrator on an infrastructure improvement project for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's commuter-rail network. Sparrow and SIGNET colleague Paul Austin were instrumental in securing that contract, company officials said in a press release.