Rail supplier news from Michael Baker, Align Production, Interfleet, Lonza, Cubic, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Interstate-McBee and Wi-Tronix (July 31)

Michael Baker Corp.'s board has approved a merger agreement through which the firm would be acquired by Integrated Mission Solutions L.L.C., an affiliate of DC Capital Partners L.L.C. Under the pact's terms, Baker shareholders will receive $40.50 in cash for each share of common stock in a transaction valued at $396.9 million. An IMS subsidiary will begin a tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding Baker common shares. The transaction is expected to close late in the third quarter or early in the fourth quarter, according to a Baker press release.

Align Production Systems has obtained a $1.8 million contract to provide Bombardier Transportation a new metro and commuter rail-car production "line moving system" for Bombardier's Plattsburgh, N.Y., plant. The system will be designed to move rail cars weighing up to 125,000 pounds through a multi-station production line, and raise and lower the cars to facilitate under-car assembly. The system is scheduled to be operational in early 2014.

Larry Kelterborn will step down as president of Interfleet Technology Inc. on Aug. 1. Bill Fullerton, senior vice president for SNC-Lavalin Transportation, has been appointed to succeed Kelterborn, who will remain an adviser to Interfleet's senior management team and continue to provide strategic consulting to Interfleet clients. Kelterborn also will continue to represent Interfleet on industry regulatory and standards committees, and identify business opportunities for the company and its parent, SNC-Lavalin.

Lonza Wood Protection announced that its licensee Cambium Group Inc. has begun production of ammoniacal copper zinc arsenate-treated railroad ties. Cambium will be the first Canadian producer of the ties, and will market them in Canada and the United States under the Chemonite® name.

Cubic Corp.'s Cubic Transportation Systems and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) have launched a pilot that will enable SFMTA riders to pay for parking at select garages with their Clipper® Card, the same card they now use to pay for rail and bus fares. Cubic is the system integrator and services provider for the regional Clipper smart card system.

Parsons Brinckerhoff has named Skender Nezaj a senior principal engineer in the Baltimore office, where he will manage rail vehicle and systems projects, including an on-call rolling stock engineering assignment for the Maryland Transit Administration. Nezaj has more than 26 years of experience in the design, integration, manufacture, commissioning, and operations and maintenance of rail transit vehicles, systems and facilities.

Interstate-McBee announced that Mark Blaschka has moved to the company's high-speed division, McBee Supply, where he will work in a territory covering Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Alabama and Arizona. Previously, Blaschka worked with the firm's EMD customers.

Wi-Tronix® L.L.C. plans to hold its annual user conference on Sept. 9 at the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, Ill. Users of Wi-Tronix products will conduct presentations on such topics as fuel savings, passenger operations, short-line operations, remote monitoring and diagnostics, risk management and data integration.