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Union Pacific Railroad recently ordered 1 million TieTek™ composite-plastic ties from North American Technologies Group Inc. (NATK).


The supplier estimates that the six-year deal is worth more than $55 million.


UP has studied composite-plastic ties as an environmentally friendly wood-tie alternative in applications involving heat and humidity, and heavy load conditions, said David Connell, UP general director-engineering technology, in a prepared statement.


The railroad, which has been testing TieTek ties since 1996, found that the
ties handled more than 700 million gross-load tons on one of UP's coal lines without any failures, said Connell.


NATK plans to expand its production capacity to meet existing orders and terms of the UP agreement, which runs from January through December
2008.