Rail supplier news from Harsco, Thales, Siemens, Herzog and Railway Interchange (Oct. 20)

Harsco Corp. has appointed Jeswant Gill president of its worldwide Harsco Rail business, effective Nov. 1. He has 30 years of global leadership experience at major multinational manufacturing and technology firms, Harsco officials said in a press release. Gill previously served as executive vice president of Kennametal's industrial segment. He also served as VP of global services for the industrial technologies sector of Ingersoll Rand, where he developed and launched offerings to address customers' equipment systems lifecycle.

Thales and Siemens obtained a $43 million contract from ADIF, Spain's state-owned rail infrastructure company, to upgrade the signaling installations, train protection systems and centralized traffic control for the Humanes-Monfrague section of the Madrid-Valencia de Alcantara line. The 142-mile section passes through the Madrid region and the provinces of Toledo and Caceres in the west. The work is aimed at improving the safety and automation of signaling and traffic control between the autonomous regions of Madrid and Extremadura.

Ralph Larison has transitioned to Herzog Contracting Corp.'s board. He previously served as national construction division manager and senior vice president, where he led more than $3 billion worth of rail and transportation projects. Larison started his career in the construction industry more than 46 years ago. Meanwhile, JC Brummond was named executive VP of Herzog's national construction division with responsibility for day-to-day operations.

Railway Interchange 2017 organizers announced the launch of a redesigned website for the event, along with the opening of exhibit booth space reservations and exhibition sponsorship sales. The new site is optimized for mobile devices and computers, and reflects the updated Railway Interchange branding. The event showcases the latest technology, services and research by members and supporters of the Railway Supply Institute, the Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association and Railway Systems Suppliers Inc. The event will be Sept. 17-20, 2017, in Indianapolis.