Rail supplier news from Kiewit/Kobayashi, The Andersons, TranSystems and Hanson; and in memoriam: Benjamin Whiteley (May 9)

The General Contractors Association of Hawaii has presented its 2017 Build Hawaii Excellence Award to the Kiewit/Kobayashi joint venture for its work on the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation's (HART) rail operations center. The firms received the award in the design-build/design-assist construction category for projects of more than $100 million. HART's rail operations center consists of four major buildings — including a train wash facility and wheel truing facility — and features more than 5 miles of steel track. The facility has been recognized for exceeding the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver standard.

The Andersons Inc. reported a first-quarter 2017 net loss of $3.1 million compared with a Q1 2016 net loss of $15.6 million. The company reported quarterly revenue of $852 million versus $888 million in 2016's first quarter. The Andersons' Rail Group earned Q1 2017 pretax income of $6.1 million compared with $9.4 million in Q1 2016. Rail-car sales increased to $3.6 million in the quarter versus $2.4 million in 2016. Although North American rail traffic began to improve year-over-year during the quarter, railroad shipping volumes remain historically week, company officials said in a press release.

Jeffrey Boothe has been appointed as an adviser on TranSystems Corp.'s board. He serves as president of Boothe Transit Consulting LLC and executive director of the Community Streetcar Coalition, which is composed of cities, transit agencies and private-sector companies that support the development and implementation of streetcars in the United States. Boothe has "substantial experience" in helping public transit agencies navigate federal project approval, TranSystems officials said in a press release.

Hanson Professional Services Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sergio Pecori was named chairman of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC). He'll serve in that role until April 2018. ACEC has more than 600,000 members from more than 5,000 engineering firms across the United States.

Benjamin Whiteley, a former chairman for The Greenbrier Cos. Inc., died May 4 at his Portland, Ore., home. He's survived by his wife Elaine. Whiteley was elected to Greenbrier's board at the time of its initial public offering in 1994. He remained on the board for two decades, serving as chairman from 2004 to 2014. During his tenure, Whiteley approved the global expansion of Greenbrier's manufacturing and commercial operations, and helped guide the company into new product lines, such as automotive-related rail products and tank cars, Greenbrier officials said in a statement.