LAKE OSWEGO, Ore., Sept. 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Greenbrier
Companies, Inc. (NYSE:GBX) announced today that its subsidiary,
Greenbrier Management Services LLC ("GMS") has expanded its
industry-leading railcar asset management business with the launch
of a new Regulatory Services Group led by James H. Rader as Vice President of Regulatory
Services. Rader's four decades of railroad industry
experience includes service at two Class I railroads, the Federal
Railroad Administration and the Association of American Railroads.
Rader worked most recently for Watco Companies, a leading
shortline and terminal operator, and 50/50 partner with Greenbrier
in the GBW Railcar Services railcar repair joint venture.
Currently, Rader serves on the board of the Mechanical Association
Railcar Technical Services (MARTS) and recently represented
shortline railroads on the AAR Tank Car Committee, where he chaired
major subcommittees. He is also a regular contributor at the
FRA Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC).
Joining Rader at Greenbrier is the most respected rail
regulatory compliance team in North America. As a part of
GMS, the new group offers regulatory, engineering, process
consulting and advocacy support to the tank car and petrochemical
rail shipper community, among other services. Petrochemical
shippers and other tank car users are a customer base that
Greenbrier has successfully served in recent years and are a rail
user group that offers substantial growth in demand for discrete,
unique and value-added asset management services.
The new group complements GMS' existing service portfolio and
customer base, and offers immediate financial contributions to
Greenbrier. The Regulatory Services Group also fits
seamlessly within Greenbrier's integrated business model. It
allows Greenbrier to deliver the most complete offering to
customers in the railcar market. Tank car customers shipping
chemicals, petrochemicals and other commodities will particularly
benefit from Greenbrier's added regulatory compliance capability.
For example, a railcar built utilizing Greenbrier's safer
tank design can be financed through Greenbrier Leasing Company;
managed by Greenbrier Management Services; operate in compliance
with relevant regulations after consultation with the Regulatory
Service Group; receive replacement wheels and parts from
Greenbrier; and be professionally maintained and recertified
through our GBW Railcar Services joint venture. This
portfolio of products and services is available exclusively from
Greenbrier to customers using all railcar types. It is
scalable and adaptable to meet the host of requirements encountered
by railcar owners.
Members of the new Regulatory Services Group formed Watco
Compliance Services in 2011. At Watco, they successfully grew
a division focused on assisting rail asset owners and railroad
users of various types to develop standard operating procedures to
comply with a broad range of technical specifications, legal
requirements, agency regulations and safety rules. Watco is
exiting the compliance services business for strategic reasons as
it emphasizes its shortline and terminal operations.
"Watco thanks our Compliance Service team for a job well done
and wish them well in their new role with our good partner,
Greenbrier," said Eric Wolfe, head
of Watco Supply Chain Services. "Most importantly, we believe
this is a good outcome for our team and our mutual Customers and
Customers at GBW."
Dan Weiler, Senior Vice
President, Asset Management, Greenbrier Leasing Company and head of
GMS said, "Expert people paired with proprietary technology are at
the core of what we do at GMS. Our new Regulatory Services
Group, with decades of expertise in railroad-related compliance,
offers great synergies with the industry-leading fleet management
group along with the advanced software systems we have built at
GMS. It will produce further opportunities to collaborate
across Greenbrier's integrated businesses,"
Weiler continued, "Jim Rader is
one of the most respected people in his field. With the
addition of Jim's team, Greenbrier now offers the industry's most
comprehensive railcar asset management platform with a broad range
of service capabilities to all constituencies in the rail freight
business."
"My team and I are thrilled to join GMS, an established and
trusted rail asset manager," Rader said. "Greenbrier has a
successful history of advancing enhanced safety, maintenance and
compliance practices for rail assets. We look forward to
offering best-in-class compliance services and domain support to
rolling stock owners who require comprehensive and advanced asset
management solutions, working with other colleagues across
Greenbrier on exciting new opportunities."
About Greenbrier
Greenbrier (www.gbrx.com), headquartered in Lake Oswego, Oregon, is a leading supplier of
transportation equipment and services to the railroad industry.
Greenbrier builds new railroad freight cars in manufacturing
facilities in the U.S., Mexico and
Poland and marine barges at our
U.S. manufacturing facility. Greenbrier sells reconditioned
wheel sets and provides wheel services at locations throughout the
U.S. We recondition, manufacture and sell railcar parts at various
U.S. sites. Through GBW Railcar Services, LLC, a 50/50 joint
venture with Watco Companies, LLC, freight cars are repaired and
refurbished at over 30 locations across North America, including more than 10 tank car
repair and maintenance facilities certified by the Association of
American Railroads. Greenbrier owns a lease fleet of over
8,900 railcars.
About Greenbrier Management Services
Greenbrier Management Services (GMS) is North America's most comprehensive railcar
management solutions provider. GMS manages over 264,000
railcars and has invested over 20 years in developing technology,
processes, and people to provide the best railcar management
products and services in the industry. GMS is powered by
proprietary software and the best subject matter experts in the
railcar business. Combined, these two vitally important
capabilities are able to deliver world class solutions to every
type of customer, from Class I railroads, lessors, and industrial
shippers to financial investors.
GMS railcar management services include: maintenance expense
management and billing administration, repair expense forecasting,
tank car engineering and regulatory compliance, scheduled
maintenance program design, ad valorem tax filings, railcar
tracking and visibility systems, railcar logistics services,
storage management, lease administration and car hire processing
and back office. Originally built with Greenbrier's own
diverse car owner and lessor responsibilities in mind, GMS brings
broad expertise to cover nearly any railcar management need that
customers may have and its integrated solutions and reporting can
be customized for any customer function or management need.
"SAFE HARBOR" STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION
REFORM ACT OF 1995: This press release may contain
forward-looking statements, including statements regarding expected
new railcar production volumes and schedules, expected customer
demand for the Company's products and services, plans to adjust
manufacturing capacity, restructuring plans, new railcar delivery
volumes and schedules, changes in demand for the Company's railcar
services and parts business, and the Company's future financial
performance. Greenbrier uses words such as "anticipates,"
"believes," "forecast," "potential," "goal," "contemplates,"
"expects," "intends," "plans," "projects," "hopes," "seeks,"
"estimates," "strategy," "could," "would," "should," "likely,"
"will," "may," "can," "designed to," "future," "foreseeable future"
and similar expressions to identify forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements are not
guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks
and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from the results contemplated by the forward-looking
statements. Factors that might cause such a difference
include, but are not limited to, reported backlog and awards are
not indicative of our financial results; inability to convert
backlog of railcar orders and obtain and execute lease syndication
commitments; uncertainty or changes in the credit markets and
financial services industry; high levels of indebtedness and
compliance with the terms of our indebtedness; write-downs of
goodwill, intangibles and other assets in future periods;
sufficient availability of borrowing capacity; fluctuations in
demand for newly manufactured railcars or failure to obtain orders
as anticipated in developing forecasts; loss of one or more
significant customers; customer payment defaults or related issues;
sovereign risk to contracts, exchange rates or property rights;
actual future costs and the availability of materials and a trained
workforce; failure to design or manufacture new products or
technologies or to achieve certification or market acceptance of
new products or technologies; steel or specialty component price
fluctuations and availability and scrap surcharges; changes in
product mix and the mix between segments; labor disputes, energy
shortages or operating difficulties that might disrupt
manufacturing operations or the flow of cargo; production
difficulties and product delivery delays as a result of, among
other matters, costs or inefficiencies associated with expansion,
start-up or changing of production lines or changes in production
rates, changing technologies, transfer of production between
facilities or non-performance of alliance partners, subcontractors
or suppliers; ability to obtain suitable contracts for the sale of
leased equipment and risks related to car hire and residual values;
integration of current or future acquisitions and establishment of
joint ventures; succession planning; discovery of defects in
railcars or services resulting in increased warranty costs or
litigation; physical damage or product or service liability claims
that exceed our insurance coverage; train derailments or other
accidents or claims that could subject us to legal claims; actions
or inactions by various regulatory agencies including potential
environmental remediation obligations or changing tank car or other
rail car or railroad regulation; and issues arising from
investigations of whistleblower complaints; all as may be discussed
in more detail under the headings "Risk Factors" and "Forward
Looking Statements" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended August 31, 2015,
and our other reports on file with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance
on these forward-looking statements, which reflect management's
opinions only as of the date hereof. Except as otherwise
required by law, we do not assume any obligation to update any
forward-looking statements.
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SOURCE The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (GBX)