CN counts on formalized certified sites program to drive more industrial development
7/12/2022
By Jeff Stagl, Managing Editor
Many Class Is have attracted industrial development projects large and small through site certification programs. Count CN among them, now that it has a more formalized and publicly accessible program.
For the past few years, CN had employed an in-house certified sites program and an informal process to help shippers locate industrial properties along its network. Now, the Certified Rail Ready Sites program has coordinated all that and tied the efforts together.
The new program is designed to make it easier and faster for current and potential customers to find a location along CN’s 20,000-mile network for a new plant in Canada or the United States. After a mid-2021 soft launch involving only U.S. sites, Certified Rail Ready Sites was fully implemented earlier this year.
The program can increase products’ speed to market, cut project costs due to mitigated risks and reduce the time it takes to complete an industrial development project, CN officials say.
Each certified industrial site in Canada and the United States is guaranteed to be accessible by CN and ready for development. Since the Class I doesn’t own the properties, they are evaluated and certified for industrial development and expansion by a third party according to such criteria as municipal zoning, electrical, natural gas, water, wastewater, telecommunications, highways and environmental impact.
This rendering depicts a state-of-the-art aluminum recycling plant that Norsk Hydro is building at a CN certified site in Michigan. The facility is expected to open in late 2023. Norsk Hydro ASACN contracted JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle IP Inc.) and Austin Consulting as third-party consultants to certify industrial properties on behalf of the Class I in Canada and the United States, respectively. The Class I’s business development team works with customers to identify sites, collaborate through the design and construction phases, and coordinate efforts with a network of partners.
There currently are 12 Certified Rail Ready Sites in the United States and Canada, with more properties set to be certified later in 2022. The Canadian sites — which are located in three provinces — are the Edson Industrial Centre in Edson, Greenview Industrial Gateway in Grande Prairie, Oyen Regional Railpark in Oyen, and Mullen Property and Sturgeon Industrial Place in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta; Long Sault property in South Stormont, Ontario; and ScotiaPort in Colchester County, Nova Scotia.
The U.S. sites are the Helena Industrial Complex in Jackson County, Mississippi; Northwest Tennessee Regional property in Obion County; Mattoon Prairie Industrial Park in Coles County, Illinois; Rialto Industrial Park in Rialto, Tennessee; and MEC Smart Park in Cassopolis, Michigan.
Earlier this year, CN scored its first major win through Certified Rail Ready Sites. Norwegian aluminum and renewable energy company Norsk Hydro ASA agreed to build a $150 million, state-of-the-art aluminum recycling plant at the certified MEC industrial park in Cassopolis.
Construction began in April on the plant, which is expected to produce about 265 million pounds of aluminum extrusion ingots per year for automotive, transportation, consumer and building system applications. Michigan is home to about 90% of the nation’s top 100 automotive suppliers.
The new plant will begin transporting materials via rail faster after completion in fourth-quarter 2023 because Norsk Hydro chose a site through Certified Rail Ready Sites, CN officials say.
The railroad hopes to score more industrial development wins by promoting sites through the program. For example, a 130-acre certified site in Rialto — located about 40 miles north of Memphis — could be an ideal fit for automotive, agricultural, renewable products, steel manufacturing or other purposes, CN officials believe.
