Kiamichi Railroad builds relationship, business with Tyson Foods in Arkansas
5/10/2023
By Jeff Stagl, Managing Editor
Great customer service. To the point it benefited both the service provider and the paying customer.
That’s what the Kiamichi Railroad (KRR) sought to provide Tyson Foods in Arkansas, and why the short line’s efforts and results culminated in a 2023 Business Development Award from the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA).
The story behind the award dates to 2018, when Tyson Foods decided to build a new poultry feed mill in southwest Arkansas to replace its aging mills in Hope and Nashville in the state. Domestic poultry product consumption was increasing at the time, so demand for the company’s chicken feed was, too.
Tyson Foods needed the new mill to immediately receive inbound unit trains of corn and manifest soybean meal rail cars once production started, and to access the North American freight-rail network to distribute its feed far and wide. Considered the world’s second-largest poultry company and ninth-largest feed producer, Tyson sought site recommendations and help with land and infrastructure development.
Tyson Foods is the world’s second-largest poultry company and ninth-largest feed producer. The new McNab facility replaces aging feed mills in Hope and Nashville, Arkansas. Tyson FoodsEnter KRR and its parent Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W). The 264-mile short line operates in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas, and interchanges with three Class Is: BNSF Railway Co., Canadian Pacific Kansas City and Union Pacific Railroad.
Owned by G&W since 2012, KRR already served Tyson Foods’ poultry complex in Hope. Executives from G&W and the short line worked to convince Tyson Foods officials that a 145-acre site along KRR’s line in McNab, Arkansas, offered the size and logistics options the company desired for the new facility.
The site featured ample space for further mill development and access to three Class Is for better flexibility in sourcing materials and obtaining rail rates.
Tyson Foods officials were sold. The company purchased the site and began construction on the $65 million mill in June 2020.
“Tyson had dramatic growth plans in mind. We want to grow along with Tyson,” says Ryan Atkins, assistant vice president of industrial development for G&W Railroad Services. “The success of any short line such as Kiamichi Railroad depends on the growth and success of the customer. It’s about customer service, knowing the customer’s business and understanding the importance of transportation in that business.”
KRR spent nearly $9 million to design and build a siding, install two mainline switches at the site and upgrade its entire route used by Tyson Foods — totaling more than 180 track miles between Madill, Oklahoma, and Hope, Arkansas — to 286,000-pound rail-car capacity. The route upgrade included rail replacement and repairs and strengthening work on more than 80 bridges.
KRR also worked with Tyson Foods, the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and Arkansas Department of Transportation to improve Highway 195 to support heavier truck traffic for transporting feed from the mill to local chicken farms.
“Tyson needed to upgrade the highway adjacent to Highway 195 from 32 tons to 40 tons per truck,” says Atkins. “In a vacuum, a railroad being involved in and advocating for investment in highways seems a little counter intuitive. But in this case, it made sense.”
The first train arrived at the new McNab mill on May 10, 2022. From that point through the remainder of 2022, KRR moved more than 3,100 carloads of feed.
The 264-mile short line operates in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas, and interchanges with BNSF Railway Co., Canadian Pacific Kansas City and Union Pacific Railroad. Genesee & Wyoming Inc.To maintain the new business, the short line hired four employees — an engineer and conductor to serve as a train crew, and two track laborers who continually inspect and maintain track at the site. The mill now supports 50 jobs in the area.
ASLRRA leaders believed that what KRR accomplished for Tyson Foods deserved recognition with a business development award. The association also bestowed 2023 awards to the Reading, Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad Co. and Strasburg Rail Road Co.
KRR identified an opportunity to grow or transform its business and found ways to deliver results by overcoming obstacles, ASLRRA officials say.
“The Business Development Award honors the hallmarks of short line railroading — having a keen understanding of customer needs, relentlessly seeking opportunities to grow customer business, and executing creative service solutions to benefit customers and the communities they serve,” said ASLRRA President Chuck Baker in a press release.
Overall, Tyson Foods’ new mill proves how supporting one rail customer can provide broad economic benefits for an entire community or area versus benefitting only a railroad and its shipper, says Atkins.
“It’s truly a partnership,” he says.
