Rail supplier news from Unitrac, Kelso, RailComm, Siemens, Alstom, L.B. Foster, Thales, Bayer CropScience and DSC Logistics (Dec. 5)

Healey Railroad Corp. has appointed Phil Pietrandrea president of Unitrac Railroad Materials Inc. Pietrandrea most recently served as senior vice president of sales and marketing for the company. He joined Unitrac in 2006. Pietrandrea began his railroad career 33 years ago as a track laborer for the Aliquippa & Southern Railroad and has been in the supply side of the business since 1984. "Phil has demonstrated the capacity to consistently expand his horizons and we look forward to him contributing to the growth of Unitrac at the highest level", said Art Healey, executive vice president of Healey Railroad Corp., Unitrac's parent company, in a press release.

Kelso Technologies Inc. announced the Association of American Railroads approved the company's new JS165H high-flow pressure relief valve for commercial applications after completing its required two-year field trial. The JS165H has been designed for use on general service tank cars carrying hazardous and nonhazardous, nonflammable chemicals that require a pressure specification of 165PSI. Tank cars requiring this technology are primarily DOT-111 cars that represent about two-thirds of the total DOT-111 fleet in North America, according to a Kelso press release.

RailComm obtained a contract to provide and install a car tracking and inventory management solution at Terminal Railway-Alabama State Docks. The system will be comprised of multiple subsystems including RailComm's Yard Portal™ for vehicle recognition, detection system using axle counting technology, radio communication infrastructure, RailComm's Yard Inventory Manager web-based user interface and the company's Domain Operations Controller (DOC^®).

ESTEL RA, a joint venture of the Algerian national company for rail transport SNTF (Societe Nationale des Transports Ferroviaires) and Siemens, has been awarded an order to deliver rail signaling and operations control equipment for upgrading the line between Beni Mansour and Bejaia in Algeria. For Siemens, the order is worth about $117.6 million. The customer is the Algerian railway agency ANESRIF. Siemens will equip a line section that runs through the Atlas mountains and serves nine stations. The contract also includes equipment for an operations control center in Bejaia and personnel training programs.

Alstom yesterday presented the first Regiolis train for the Poitou-Charentes region in France to elected representatives of the Technicentre in Saintes. The 10 trains on order will enhance the comfort of passengers on regional journeys between Poitiers, Saintes, La Rochelle and Bordeaux. During December, SNCF Railway staff in the Poitou-Charentes region will receive training for the new train, which is scheduled to enter commercial service in January 2015, according to a company press release.

L.B. Foster Co. announced earlier this week it has appointed Robert S. Purgason, director and chief operating officer of the general partner of Access Midstream Partners L. P.,  to its board. The appointment was effective immediately.

Thales has strengthened its transport activities in Greece by signing a new main line contract with Metka S.A. for the Hellenic Railways organization subsidiary ERGOSE. Thales will upgrade signaling and telecommunications infrastructure across a 45-mile section of the Athens Patras line.

Bayer CropScience has acquired certain DuPont Crop Protection Land Management assets in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. The transaction closed Dec. 1, following required antitrust approvals. The acquisition boosts Bayer CropScience's non-agricultural pest and weed control business, according to a company press release. "Through this acquisition we become a leader in industrial vegetation management in North America and globally, and will continue to build a best-in-class, innovative platform for future product launches and risk management solutions," said Bayer CropScience CEO Liam Condon.

DSC Logistics Chief Executive Officer Ann Drake has been recognized by the International Women's Forum as a 2014 Woman Who Makes a Difference. The award recognizes women who are role models for women’s progress and development. In addition to serving as CEO of DSC Logistics, Drake is founder of the Achieving Women’s Excellence in Supply Chain Operations, Management, and Education (AWESOME) initiative.