Rail supplier news from Stella-Jones, Vossloh, Axion, Alstom, GE, LTK and Jacobs Associates (Nov. 19)

Stella-Jones Inc. has completed its acquisition of the operating assets of Arizona Pacific Wood Preserving Inc., Nevada Wood Preserving Inc. and Pacific Wood Preserving of Oregon Inc., including the wood concentration yard in Texas. The purchase price was $33 million, plus the sellers' net working capital at closing, estimated at $23.7 million, subject to post closing adjustments. The company financed the acquisition through existing credit facilities and a vendor note of $7 million.

Vossloh Electrical Systems has obtained a $121.6 million contract from Hannover, Germany's public transport operator Ustra for another 50 light-rail vehicles, according to a Vossloh press release. The order is a follow-up to a contract in 2011, when Ustra ordered 50 light-rail vehicles along with an option for another 95, of which 50 have now been ordered. The bi-directional vehicles are expected to begin serving riders in March 2014.

Axion International Holdings Inc. recently shipped the first purchase order of ECOTRAX® rail ties to one of the largest multi-national chemical companies, which is installing the ties on one of its internal rail spurs, according to Axion. Including the previous four orders shipped earlier this year, Axion has sold more than $170,000 worth of ECOTRAX to this customer, Axion officials said in a press release.

On Nov. 16, Alstom delivered its 1,500th Citadis tram for service by the STIP (Ile-de-France Transport Union) and the RATP of the Ile-de-France's tram line 7, which was recently inaugurated. The line links Villejuif with Athis-Mons near Paris and serves 18 stations.

GE Transportation's Optimization Solutions is demonstrating several extensions to its OASIS intermodal training operating software system at this year's Intermodal Association of North America's Intermodal Expo, which is being held this week in Houston. On exhibit is the OASIS driver mobile application for Android and iOS smartphones, the Stack Train Aerodynamic Optimization tool, the Gate Kiosk integrated hardware and software solution; and the Linux platform.

LTK Engineering Services has appointed Lloyd Mack the firm's Seattle area manager and Paul Novak, Chicago office manager. Since he joined LTK in 2008, Mack has served as project manager for rail systems and rail vehicle engineering activities for Sound Transit's Link light-rail system and Sounder commuter-rail network. Novak has more than 30 years of experience in railroad and rail transit signaling and train control. For 15 years, he served as the senior signal consultant in Chicago, where he worked on a series of projects for Metra and the Chicago Transit Authority.

Jacobs Associates honored two employees — Joel Kantola and the late Bhaskar Thapar — as 2013 recipients of the James Wilton Award, which recognizes employee contributions and accomplishments. A senior associate in the Boston office, Kantola has been a project manager on the Anacostia River Tunnel and assistant project manager on the Blue Plains Tunnel and is currently working on the First Street Tunnel. Thapa, who died unexpectedly on June 19, was an expert in the New Austrian Tunneling Method and was lead tunnel designer and design representative during construction of the Caldecott improvement project.