Rail supplier news from GATX, GE, Tiger Cool, Sqills and Auto Truck (Dec. 19)

GATX Corp. has appointed James Conniff senior vice president of human resources. Conniff began his career with GATX in 1981, spending 10 years in various finance roles. He then transitioned to HR, where his responsibilities included employee benefits, labor relations, talent acquisition, incentive plan design and training.

GE Capital, Rail Services announced five employees have been elected to the Association of American Railroads Associate Advisory Board committees. Elected members and their committee appointments are Michael Bordan, Transportation Technology Center Inc. Research Advisory Board; Roger Hawkins, Equipment Engineering Committee; Cindy Jasionowski, Umler Committee; Pete McGinley, Car Repair Billing Committee; and Steve Wojciechowski, Brake Systems Committee.

Tiger Cool Express LLC has acquired 35 domestic temperature-controlled containers to add to its fleet. The acquisition marks a 17.5 percent increase in the fleet's size, bringing the total number of containers to 234. The containers are Hyundai boxes with Carrier X4-7300 refrigeration units and iBright telematics. The insulated containers are designed to hold temperatures to minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit.

Sqills, a Dutch provider of sales and distribution software for the rail and bus industries, has been selected by Iarnrod Eireann, Irish Rail, to replace its national reservation, pricing, ticketing and distribution system. Sqills is a member of the team led by Cubic Transportation Systems. Sqills' "S3 Passenger" solution was chosen by Cubic/ Irish Rail because of its innovative nature, off-the-shelf availability and alignment with Irish Rail's objectives, according to a company press release.

Auto Truck Group plans to open a new work truck and commercial van upfitting and manufacturing facility this month in O'Fallon, Mo. The 40,000-square-foot-facility will upfit more than 30 vehicles concurrently. The facility features two acres of storage space and can support the installation of truck equipment for a variety of users and applications, according to Auto Truck Group.