Rail supplier news from Trinity, Burns, Atlas, Michael Baker, RELAM and ZEDAS (Jan. 6)

Trinity Industries Inc. has acquired Holden America, a multilevel vehicle securement and protection systems and gravity-outlet gates manufacturer for freight-rail use. Trinity acquired the company for $70 million with an additional minimum of $5 million per year for the next two years. The acquisition allows Trinity to expand its autorack manufacturing business in North America and take advantage of an improving automobile end market, Trinity officials said in a press release. The transaction closed Dec. 30, 2022.

Burns Engineering Group last week hired Tony Koltuv as vice president of railroad and transit. Koltuv has more than 25 years of experience in transportation project management and is a "highly regarded leader in railway safety and capital program innovation," Burns officials said in a press release. Koltuv succeeds Daren Petroski, who is retiring from the company after nearly 15 years.

Atlas Technical Consultants Inc. announced its joint venture team was selected to provide program delivery support to the California High-Speed Rail Authority. The joint venture team is led by AECOM. The $400 million contract includes a four-year term with two one-year extension options. Atlas’ role in the joint venture team involves development and implementation of a quality management system that ensures plans, processes and actions for the high-speed rail program are executed while ensuring compliance with internal and external requirements.

Michael Baker International has hired Chris Statham as executive VP and chief financial officer. Statham has experience in financial planning, modeling, risk, accounting, financial technology and mergers and acquisitions. Most recently, he served as CFO and construction president at Pond, an engineering, architecture, planning and construction management firm.

Railway Equipment Leasing And Maintenance (RELAM) has acquired Wiskerchen Truck & Equipment LLC and Wiskerchen Rental & Leasing LLC based in Spencer, Wisconsin. The sibling companies specialize in the sale, service, rental and leasing of hi-rail trucks and equipment, which have been identified as a core product category" for RELAM’s long-term growth plan, RELAM officials said in a press release.

Software specialist ZEDAS signed on Canada’s Metrolinx as a new client. The transit agency contracted ONxpress Transportation Partners, a multinational consortium consisting of Aecon, Alstom, DB International Operations and FCC Construccion to provide the ZEDAS software solution — called zedas^®asset — in a multistage selection procedure that will digitize and automate maintenance processes in rail-vehicle and infrastructure areas. The contract's aim is to reduce maintenance costs and improve reliability and safety of Metrolinx’s transit system.