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The Watco Cos. Inc. recently acquired the operations of Reload Inc., which provides rail-centric transloading and warehousing services to the lumber, steel and bulk industries.

Reload, now a wholly owned Watco subsidiary, also provides trucking, inventory management and single-bill rail logistics services. The company operates facilities in Phoenix, St. Louis, La Crosse, Wis., Rockton, Ill., and Mobile, Ala., and will open another in Oklahoma City, Okla., later this year. Reload Vice President of Sales Chris Salek and VP of Operations Phil Penner will retain their responsibilities and manage day-to-day operations.

"This acquisition will be a growth platform for Watco as the need to transload and forward position products by rail continue to grow," said Watco Vice President of Distribution Services Kevin Goins in a prepared statement.

Watco owns 17 short lines, provides industrial switching and locomotive shop services, and owns Millennium Rail Inc., which operates eight rail-car repair shops.