Kansas Governor signs Transportation Bill at Watco's Pittsburg office ...

the
Dispatch
The newsletter for Watco Companies, Inc. and Watco Transportation Services, Inc. June 2010, Volume 11, Issue 6
Watco’s CEO Rick Webb Wins Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The
Year ® award in the Central Midwest Region
by Tracie VanBecelaere
Managing Editor
What happens when you gather several entrepreneurs
together for an event? According to Rick
Webb, Watco CEO, chaos ensues - because everybody
likes to lead.
“They’d tell us to line up and everyone was trying
to start their own lines,” said Webb.
The occasion was the gala event in Overland Park,
Kan., on June 2, to announce the winners of the
Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® (EOY)
award in the Central Midwest Region. Webb was
selected as a winner representing the transportation
industry. Ten other entrepreneurs were also chosen
to represent their areas of specialty.
In his acceptance speech Webb stated, “Railroading
is a team sport, so I feel honored to represent
the Watco Team with this award. It’s their hard
work and dedication to putting our Customers first
that has made it possible for me to stand before you
today.”
Webb also thanked the many Watco Customers
who have shared their business with Watco and allowed
us to be successful. He also stated that he was
proud to follow in the footsteps of one of Watco’s
great Customers Mike Haverty the Chairman, CEO
Kansas Governor signs Transportation Bill at Watco’s Pittsburg office
by Tracie VanBecelaere
Managing Editor
Watco is all about transportation, so what
better place for the Kansas Governor to
sign a transportation bill than at the Watco
Corporate offices in Pittsburg?
On May 26, Governor Mark Parkinson
arrived in Pittsburg for the ceremonial signing
of the $8.2 billion legislation referred to
as T-WORKS. The desk which the bill was
signed on belonged to W.B. “Bus” Johnson,
the father-in-law of Watco founder Dick
Webb.
“I can’t tell you how many contracts have
been signed on that desk,” said Rick Webb,
Watco CEO, “but the significance of this bill
and what it will do for the state of Kansas
brings home the importance of transportation
to the state and the direction we are
heading in the future.”
Winners of the Central Midwest Region Ernst & Young Entrepreneur
Of The Year® 2010 Award are: (l-r) Pack St. Clair, Cobalt Boats;
Mike Wells, Wells’ Dairy Inc.; Joe Ratterman, BATS Global Markets;
Melissa Rubel, wife of winner Matthew E. Rubel, Collective Brands;
John Bloomhall, Diamond V Mills Inc.; Russ Hornsby, Cepia LLC.;
Jerrry Jost, Jost Chemical Co.; Thad W. Simons, Jr., Novus International
Inc.; Matthew Rubel, Collective Brands, Inc.; Rick Webb,
Watco and William, Knapp, Knapp Properties, Inc.
and President of the Kansas City Southern Railway, an EOY transportation
award winner two years ago.
Webb also thanked the executive team and their wives who attended
the dinner Terry and Karen Towner, Rick and Susan Baden
A recent Reader’s Digest poll ranked
Kansas roads and highways as the best in
the nation and officials said their goal is to
use the funds to keep the state on the top of
the list. More than half of the funds, $4.6
million, are earmarked for highway preservation.
This includes the promise that every
mile in the state of Kansas will get some sort
of preservation work.
The rail portion of the bill designated $5
million per year to rail projects beginning
in 2013.
“By allocating funds to rail, the state is
recognizing the important part that rail
plays in the Kansas economy,” said Ed
McKechnie, Watco chief commercial officer.
“When the economy comes back in
full force the rail infrastructure has to have
the ability to accommodate the need for
increased capacity to provide service to our
Kansas Customers.”
and Gary and Susie Lundy. Webb said, “Terry
Towner, Rick Baden, Gary Lundy, along with
Ed McKechnie and Craig Richey are the best
leadership team in the business. It is their dedication
to continually improve our service to our
Customers and the Watco Team that makes us
who we are. I also want to thank my father for
his vision and the solid foundation on which we
have built Watco, my mother Kaye Lynne whose
passion, drive and determination got us going
and my sister, for being here tonight and being
there for me always. Lastly, I’d like to thank my
family for all the sacrifices they have made for
me. With a special thank you to my wife Stacey
who I’ve been married to for 20 years and is the
love of my life.”
Southeast Kansas was represented well in
the competition, Pack St. Clair of Cobalt Boats
received the Master Entrepreneur award. The
Cobalt Boat factory is located beside Watco’s
mechanical shop in Neodesha, Kan.
The regional awards recognized companies
based in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska.
The next step is the national awards held in November
and hosted by Jay Leno in Palm Springs,
Calif. The press release can be viewed at http://
www.watcocompanies.com/news/news.htm.
The Pittsburg reception had a large audience, showing the support
of Southeast Kansas for the bill.
Kansas Governor Mark Parkinson signs a ceremonial T-WORKS bill in
Watco’s Pittsburg offices at the desk of W.B. “Bus” Johnson, grandfather of
Watco CEO, Rick Webb.

the Dispatch
page 2
Boise Valley Railroad and the city of Boise partner up
by Tracie VanBecelaere
Managing Editor
A beautiful Idaho day greeted the freshly-painted Boise Valley
Railroad locomotive as it pulled into the Boise Depot on May 19 to
take city and state officials on a celebratory train ride. Boise Valley
Railroad (BVRR) and Watco West Region Team members hosted the
celebration aboard the Spirit of Idaho, a recently restored passenger
railcar painted to resemble the Idaho license plate.
The City of Boise and the BVRR celebrated the BVRR Grand
Opening along with the signing of an agreement to begin a feasibility
study on building a rail-served transload and intermodal services
facility on city-owned property in southeast Boise. The $2 million to
$5 million facility will handle large land/sea, or intermodal, shipping
containers and allow freight container cargo to be transferred from
rail to truck and truck to rail. This facility will be the only one of its
kind between Ogden, Utah and Portland, Oregon, and will save time
and shipping costs for freight transportation customers on the BVRR
who serve a large draw area that could range as far as from Baker,
Oregon to Burley, Idaho.
“This agreement represents a major advance for economic development
in our valley,” Boise Mayor Dave Bieter said. “One freight train
can carry the load of 280 trucks. We must look to install this kind of
large scale infrastructure in order to ensure the city’s future economic
vitality and to maintain our high quality of life.”
John Brown, West Region COO, said the partnership goes beyond
the railroad and the city and brings in the other communities in the Treasure
Valley, the State of Idaho and the Union Pacific railroad.
He said the transfer yard would develop a “strategy that grows, promotes and
diversifies the greenest form of ground freight transportation for the benefit of
our communities while providing quality rail service to our customers.”
Both the city and the BVRR will help fund the feasibility study and when the
yard becomes a reality, the BVRR will maintain the existing track and provide
rail freight service for all of the 18.2 miles of city-owned track. Track upgrades
are also being discussed which could allow trains to travel at higher speeds on
the city owned portion in order to provide extended testing ground for Motive-
Power, a locomotive manufacturing company located in Southeast Boise. In
addition, the planned expansion could potentially provide a traffic volume platform
from which to offer Watco/BVRR mechanical services to railcar owners.
Idaho’s Governor Butch Otter has long touted Idaho’s need for an improved
transportation system to keep the state nationally and globally competitive.
Bill Connors, president and CEO of the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce, and Gary Wagenseller,
Boise Valley Railroad general manager cut the ribbon at the Grand Opening Ceremony of the Boise
Valley Railroad. To the right of Wagenseller is Boise Mayor Dave Bieter, Idaho’s Lt. Governor Brad
Little, West Region HR manager Matt Lewis, West Region Director of Property Management Garrett
Bolyard and Watco CEO Rick Webb. Carl Legg, BVRR and Eastern Idaho marketing manager, is
pictured on the far left next to a Boise Ambassador, West Region COO John Brown and West Region
Director of Railroad Operations Rob Thrall.
“Providing Idaho employers and entrepreneurs with safe and efficient transportation
options is a fundamental part of growing our economy and ensuring
future prosperity,” said Otter. “The convenience and functionality offered by this
short line promises to be a great tool for producers and shippers in the Treasure
Valley, and for our efforts to attract more career-path opportunities for Idaho
workers,” Otter said.
Idaho and Wyoming are currently the only states in the West without intermodal
facilities. Mayor Bieter believes the city is uniquely positioned with its
railroad and industrial park to take advantage of the recovering economy.
“If there’s anything we’ve learned through tough times, you want to have as diverse
an economy as you can and not just be dependent on one or two industries
or companies,” said Bieter.
The BVRR began operations in November of 2009 and the addition of a transload
and intermodal facility will add significantly to the service mix that the
railroad is able to offer to its already diverse range of customers and commodities
served on the line.
Map compliments of the Idaho Statesman
West Region COO John Brown (left) and Boise Mayor Dave Bieter celebrate the signing of
a partnership to conduct a study on the feasibility of locating a transload/intermodal facility
in southeast Boise.

Hwy 71
the Dispatch
page 3
NSF
SF
WICHITA
I-135
Conway Springs
UP
BNSF
I-35
I-35
City officials excited about new Cherryvale yard
by Tracie VanBecelaere
Managing Editor
On June 1, 1910 the Cherryvale Depot welcomed
its first customers on the Santa Fe Railroad. One
hundred years later a different group gathered at
the depot with a different destination in mind. The
group consisted of area businessmen, community
leaders, South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad
(SKOL) team members and members of the Watco
Team. The destination
- a field four miles
north of the depot for
the groundbreaking
of the new Cherryvale
railyard. The group
was excited to board
the train and celebrate
an event that will
improve the quality of
life for the citizens of
Cherryvale and the enhance
the service that
the railroad provides
its Customers.
Once the group arrived
at their destination
they got off the
train and headed to a
field where the north
end of the new yard
would be located. Rick
Webb, Watco CEO,
started out the day by
welcoming the group and letting them know how a
cumulation of efforts had made the new Cherryvale
yard a possibility. With Senator Derek Schmidt
spearheading the efforts, a new switch yard is being
I-35
BN
built to help ease the congestion and traffic problems
I-135
R (SKOL)
ackage Rights
ights
rvices
Newton
Perry
BNSF
I-35
Oxford
UP
Hwy 400
Kellog
WINFIELD
BN
New Salem
Pawnee
Stillwater
Burden
Highway 169
Moline
KANSAS
OKLAHOMA
Sand Springs
Hwy 400
Fredonia
SS
NEODESHA
Independence
Caney
I-44
UP
PC
UP
Dewey
Bartlesville
Collinsville
Owasso
Sapulpa
Verdigris
River
BNSF
BNSF
Interchanges - Track miles 380
UP - Coffeyville, Winfield, Tulsa, Neodesha
BNSF - Winfield, Tulsa, Columbus
KCS - Pittsburg
KO - Wichita
SS - Tulsa
SLWC - Tulsa
UP
I-44
Claremore
Tulsa Port Authority
UP
Hwy 400
UP
Hwy 69
caused by the growth of the rail business. When the
SKOL began operations in 1990, they shipped about
12,000 carloads annually, that number is expected to
be approximately 60,000 carloads this year.
Webb said, “The good news for Southeast Kansas
is that the rail business is doing so good and
Customers are shipping out a lot of product from
the area. The bad news is, the Cherryvale yard just
wasn’t build to handle this much traffic.”
If you look at the map of the SKOL rail system
Photo by Andy Taylor, Montgomery County Chronicle
Shoveling dirt for the groundbreaking of the new Cherryvale railyard are: (l-r) Terry Towner, Watco president; Pat
Cedeno, vice president sales and marketing Central Region; Mitch Becker, COO Central Gulf/East Region; Mike Pollard,
SKOL general manager; Tony Fowler, Montgomery County Commissioner; State Sen. Derek Schmidt, KDOT
Secretary Deb Miller, Watco CEO Rick Webb, Cherryvale Mayor John Wright, and State Sen. Dwayne Umbarger.
TULSA
Liberty
Humboldt
Chanute
Thayer
Cherryvale
Altamont
COFFEYVILLE
Wagoner
Sherwin
Oswego
Vinita
Cherryvale sits right in the center and is the hub of
the railroad “wheel”. There are lines coming in from
five different directions and when the cars arrive at
Cherryvale they have to be split up or switched, to
the track
KCS
that will take them to their next destination.
Some of the trains are quite long so,
BNSF when the crews move cars around, roads
and crossings in the area are often blocked,
Liberal
sometimes literally cutting the city in half.
With the relocation of the yard, the train
crews BNSF will be able to switch the cars outside
of the city and leave the crossings open for
Carthage
COLUMBUS traffic.
BNSF Another I-44 advantage to having the railyard
moved is the safety issue. When the railcars
were waiting to be moved, young chil-
Neosho
BNSF
dren would often climb on or around the
KCS
cars, creating a very dangerous situation.
MISSOURI
By moving the cars outside of town, they
ARKANSAS will no longer be tempting to the children
who want to play on them. Emergency vehicles
will also be able to move more freely
I-44
Hwy 69
Hwy 69
PITTSBURG
Cherokee
To Kansas City
KCS
Hwy 71
SKOL Main line
through the city, not having to worry about the flow
of traffic or blocked crossings.
Greg McDanel, Cherryvale City Administrator
said, “The invitation to this event stated the dress as
“railroad casual”…it’s not that I can’t follow directions,
. For the City of Cherryvale and its citizens,
this day is anything but casual, it’s historic. The City’s
top priority in pushing this project forward has been
the public safety concern. Citizens as well as public
safety personnel will be able to rest easier knowing
that response times should
not have to factor in which
side of the track the emergency
is on. On behalf of
the City, we would like to
thank Watco, the South
Kansas and Oklahoma
Railroad, and the State of
Kansas for proceeding with
this project, especially during
tough economic times.”
Secretary of Transportation
Deb Miller then told
the crowd how excited she
was to be at the groundbreaking
but she would be
even more excited to come
back in the fall for the ribbon
cutting. “It’s always exciting
to see the beginning
of a project but it’s even
better to see it completed,
and to see the benefits the
community receives because
of the project. This project shows the success
of rail in Kansas and the need to keep improving for
the better of the residents.”
Phase I, already in progress, consists of land acquisition,
engineering and construction of five tracks.
Phase II will provide construction of an additional
five tracks, two of which will be enclosed to accommodate
engine and rail car repairs. Phase II also
includes the removal of all unnecessary rail within
downtown Cherryvale. All surveying and engineering
for Phase II will be completed within the initial
scope of work. Based on this, completion for Phase
II will be more timely once the work is initiated.
When both Phases have been completed, a total of
6.13 miles will have been added to the SKOL line for
the railyard.
As he was leaving the depot following the groundbreaking,
Mayor John Wright stated, “I just don’t
know if everyone understands how big this is, how it
helps the city.”
Hopefully, in a few months, they will see how big
it really is.
CR 6000
The map on the top left shows the key role
that Cherryvale plays in the SE Kansas
railroad story. Five lines meet in the city of
Cherryvale and with the increased traffic
has caused congestion issues.
Left graphic is the engineer’s design of the
new yard being constructed north of Cherryvale.

the Dispatch
page 4
Full Steam Ahead Awards announced for first quarter
by Tracie VanBecelaere
Managing Editor
Texas and Oklahoma have always been big rivals,
battling it out on the football, baseball and softball
fields as well as the basketball courts for bragging
rights. Oklahoma can claim bragging rights this quarter
to beating Texas in the number of team members
receiving the Full Stream Ahead Award, an honor
much better than a National Championship.
Winners on Team Oklahoma are Kristi Salek, clerk at
the Oklahoma City Transload location; Edward Nolen,
an operator at the same location and Gregg Lovelace,
engineer for the South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad
(SKOL) in Owasso, Okla.
Austin Western Railroad (AWRR) conductor Melvin
Rissenhoover and lead mechanic Ismael Mondrogon
represent Team Texas and and we have Joshua Golightley,
a engineer in Winfiled, Kan., for the SKOL as the
lone representative from the Kansas Team.
Each quarter the award is presented to individuals
who have gone above and beyond their normal
work schedule to achieve increased results relating in
improvements in Customer service, safety, quality, and
profitability for the long term.
Kristi Salek, a WTIS clerk at the Oklahoma City,
Okla., facility works overtime when it comes to practicing
Watco’s Customer First Foundation Principles.
WTIS’s Customer, Hexion, had a surge in sales in
February and Kristi pushed herself beyond what anyone
would ask to get all the paperwork completed to
process all orders in a timely manner.
“She took on the challenge of completing the work,
by not only putting in the extra time but by fulfilling
her duties flawlessly, with zero rework,” said Dave
Edwards, WTIS OKC general manager.
Edward Nolen, a WTIS operator also working in the
Oklahoma City, Okla., facility stepped up to the plate
as well during Hexion’s surge.
“At a time when we were short two members Edward
went above and beyond his normal requirements,” said
Edwards. “More than 100 railcars and 500 outbound
trucks were loaded under Edward’s guidance.”
Gregg Lovelace, South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad
(SKOL) engineer, works out of Owasso, Okla.,
and is another Team Oklahoma member that follows
the Customer First Principles each and every day.
Anthony Rogers, SKOL trainmaster, said, “Gregg
has a great attitude and talks to Customer Service each
day before beginning his daily tasks to ensure the accuracy
of his work. He makes sure his Customers cars
are shipped properly and is always on the lookout for
unforeseen hazards. Gregg’s keen eye has prevented
derailments that would be costly to the company and
to the Customer.”
They say that everything’s big in Texas, that would be
true if you’re talking about Ismael Mondragon’s focus
on quality. Mondragon is the lead mechanic for the
Austin Western Railroad (AWRR) and has a reputation
for his commitment to everything he does.
Dan Martin, AWRR chief mechanical officer said,
“Ismael’s a great team motivator and a driving force
to the success of our locomotive department. He has
learned how to replace turbos on the locomotives,
reducing the cost of contract labor and the downtime
of the locomotives.”
Oklahoma
Kristi Salek, WTIS OKC, clerk with Dave Edwards,
WTIS OKC, general manager
Edward Nolen, WTIS OKC, operator with Dave
Edwards, WTIS OKC, general manager
Mike Pollard, SKOL general manager with Gregg
Lovelace, SKOL engineer at Owasso, Okla.
Mondragon has also taken it upon himself to instruct
the other team members on the turbo repair
procedure to ensure there will always be someone
qualified to perform the repairs needed.
Melvin Joe Rissenhoover is another AWRR team
member winning the FSA award. Melvin is a conductor
for the railroad and just like Mondragon,
he enjoys sharing and mentoring the younger team
members.
Texas
Ismael Mondragon, AWRR lead mechanic pictured
with Dan Martin, AWRR CMO.
Melvin Joe Rissenhoover, AWRR conductor, pictured
with Ronald Singleton, AWRR trainmaster.
Kansas
Mike Pollard, SKOL general manager with FSA
winner Josh Golightley, SKOL engineer and Robert
Balzer, SKOL’s Winfield ATM.
“Joe is a great leader with lots of experience and
always takes the time to share his knowledge with
the younger guys,” said Ronald Singleton, AWRR
trainmaster. “He emphasizes the importance of
working safe and paying attention to detail. That
attention to detail has prevented costly derailments
in a couple of situations.”
That same attention to detail is what got Josh
Golightley nominated for (Continued on page 5)

the Dispatch
page 5
Customer First in action
This section is to provide examples of the Watco Team putting the Customer
First principles in action.
Duane Whitaker, lead maintenance manager for GE Rail Services Corp. sent
the following e-mail to Gary Lundy, EVP Support Services.
I would like to give a big hand to Watco’s Wood River, Ill., facility for recently
acting in such a timely manner in resending 50 estimates on the DBCX aluminum
cars, (BASF release).
They have had a couple of large projects lately for GE and have had to make
some adjustments accordingly, like getting set up on IDCSI in quick fashion.
I could also tell immediately that they were part of the Watco Network in looking
at the first few revised estimates. Billing was according to the changes made
between both Companies’ using the AAR price master and there were also many
individual line changes in amounts, going both ways, as material item changes
were reflected based on their current average pricing.
Again thank you to the Wood River team and also to Knut to whom I placed
the first call requesting their help.
Steve Hatfield, general manager for Cornejo
Materials sent this e-mail to Laura Schmidt,
marketing manager for Central Region
industrial products.
Jerry Cornejo & I were talking and just
wanted to again drop a note to let you
know how much we appreciate working
with Robert (Balzar) out of the Winfield
Yard. He has always been responsive to
our calls and needs and helps with special
requests whenever he can. He’s been very good
at communicating when we will get service or cars
and straight forward if he can’t help us with special requests. He lets us know
why the trains are delayed or there’s any kind of issue causing a deviation from
our regular deliveries. We really rely on him and he comes through on almost
every occasion unless it’s out of his control (engine breakdowns, derailments,
flooding, etc.) Please pass this on as you see fit, since we all are quick to hear the
bad when it happens and rarely the good.
Rene’ Foley, manager vendor services for CSX sent the following e-mail to
Watco CEO Rick Webb.
Short lines reach safety mark
by Tracie VanBecelaere
Managing Editor
The “S” in ARS and MSR should stand for safety because both the Arkansas
Southern Railroad (ARS) and the Mississippi Southern Railroad (MSR) have
gone five years as of April without any reportable personal injuries.
“That’s quite an achievement,” said Gary Vaughn, vice president of safety. “Industry
standards track safety records by calendar year and not many make that
mark.”
Darrell Thompson, ARS general manager said, “I’ll hold my team up against
anyone in the industry when it comes to safety. They’re phenomenal people
to work with and their dedication to safety and positive attitudes have enabled
them to reach this benchmark. As of Friday, June 4, we have gone 1,708 days
injury free.”
Kevin Jeter feels the same about his MSR Team. “They’ve worked hard to
achieve this goal, it’s not something that happens by accident. It takes attention
to detail and communication, something they have all excelled at.”
Both have big plans to celebrate with their team. Thompson said, “One of our
guys had to have a kidney removed and as soon as he’s recovered I’m treating the
team and their wives to a steak dinner. We should celebrate as a family because
an injury effects both our work and family environment, so when we’re able to
prevent injuries we all benefit.”
Jeter has plans to celebrate with the MSR Team as well. “Things are in the planning
stages right now, we want to make sure that we recognize this achievement
with a big bang,” said Jeter.
While the ARS and MSR are just beginning to plan their safety celebrations, the
KAW River Railroad (KAW) already had one of its own.
Eddie Arredondo is not only the vice president of human resources, he’s also
becoming a master griller. Arrendondo took his act on the road and treated the
Kaw River Railroad (KAW) Team to a barbecue to congratulate them on going
750 days injury free.
“I was at a meeting for the KAW team and at the time they had gone about 400
days or so injury free so I issued a challenge and told them I would come up and
grill Texas t-bones for them if they reached 750 days,” said Arrendondo. “Of
course, as soon as they reached the goal I got a phone call.”
The barbecue and the fixing were all Texas-style, made by Arrendondo and his
wife Grace.
“Grace made the rice, beans and guacamole and I did the hot sauce and then
grilled the steaks to order,” said Arrendondo. “We’re real proud of our home
state and enjoyed sharing our cuisine to celebrate the KAW’s focus on safety.
Now we’ll just have to figure out how to top that when they reach 1,500 hours.”
Congratulations to all three short lines for their focus on safety.
I wanted to let you know that I appreciate the great customer service that is
provided to CSX from your Team at the Fitzgerald (Ga.) location. I visited the
shop last week to see our covered hopper paint cars and was very pleased with
the quality of work. Joe Keys, Ros Nash, and Brian Clark along with the rest
of the Team provide safe, quality cars which are of utmost importance to us.
It is a pleasure doing business with your Team.
FSA Awards continued
(Continued from page 6) the FSA award. Golightley is a engineer for the SKOL
and works out of Winfield, Kan.
John Layne, SKOL ATM, said, “Josh needs to be recognized for his performance
in his job duties and in the pride he takes in the company. Not only
does he identify areas that need attention but he also reports all issues and
ensures that the issues are resolved. He is very conscientious about following
up and making sure that things don’t slip through the cracks.”
Congratulations to all the Full Steam Ahead Award winners, regardless of
what team you’re on, for setting a great example for your fellow team members
to follow.
Members of the KAW Team bask in the sun while finishing their Texas t-bones. (l-r)
Chris Roberson, crew member and safety committee member; Rick Carter, track supervisor;
Mark McClellan, general manager; Jordan Talbert, crew member and Rob
Bailey, carman supervisor.

the Dispatch
page 6
Fitzgerald, Georgia, mechanical shop is in the black
by Joe Keys
Plant Manager
If you drove a car to work today, printed a document, read a newspaper or
used a computer, then you have come in contact with carbon black and chances
are that Watco’s Fitzgerald, Ga., mechanical shop’s newest customer Cabot Corporation
produced it.
Cabot Corporation, operates 39 manufacturing facilities located in the United
States and 19 other countries. Founder Godfrey Lowell Cabot first applied for a
patent for his “carbon black making
apparatus” in 1882. The company he
founded is based on his “Vision and
Values” and today the company enjoys
a strong reputation for producing
high quality materials with an unwavering
respect for sustainability and
safety. If their story sounds a lot like
Watco’s it is because it is. Cabot’s “Vision
and Values” are closely aligned
with the Foundation Principles that
Dick Webb used when he started
Watco more than 27 years ago.
Carbon black is used as a pigment
and reinforcement agent in rubber,
plastics and in the printing process.
It is largely what makes black things
black. It is made from processing of
heavy petroleum product such as FCC
tar, coal tar, ethylene cracking tar and a small amount of vegetable oil. It looks
and feels a lot like the black photocopier toner common in most copiers. It is
transported in specially designed covered hoppers and Cabot owns/operates
about 1,200 of them.
Because the product is so messy most repair facilities will not accept a carbon
black car. There is a great risk in contaminating the shop, tool and anything that
comes in contact with the product. In fact, prior to the Fitzgerald shop, there
were only two repair shops in the country that would accept the cars. A downward
economy and a desire to keep work flowing into the shop at Fitzgerald
changed that in 2009.
The shop saw decrease in repair demand in the first quarter of 2009 due to the
fact that there were so many cars put into storage. The Fitzgerald staff began
putting their heads together and coming up with ideas of how to get more repair
work into the shop. We learned that there was a fleet of Carbon Black cars in
the area that needed repair, paint/lining and in some cases, extended life service.
We looked at our facility and realized we had all of the equipment we needed to
service this fleet. All we really needed was a plan to protect the shop from contamination,
complete some minor modifications and to convince the Customer
to give us a chance.
We reached out to an old friend and previous plant manager Clarence Musch.
Musch already knew the shop had a very close relationship with Cabot. It was
not long before Musch set up a meeting between Cabot and the shop. The
concern was that Cabot’s aging fleet needed extended life service and before the
meeting was over we had convinced them to ship us a few cars.
However, Cabot also saw a down turn in business in 2009 and in the end
decided not to do the work to this particular group of cars. But a relationship
between the two companies had been formed and Cabot ended sending additional
cars that needed to be cleaned, repaired, painted and returned to service.
This work actually generated more billable hours for the shop then the extended
life program would have.
While work was underway Cabot approached the shop and asked if we were
interested in converting some of their carbon black cars to fumed silica service
(fumed silica is a white substance used in a similar manner as carbon black).
Their customer, Dow Chemicals, was looking for additional railcar capacity and
Cabot needed better utilization of their fleet. This conversion of under-utilized
carbon black cars to needed carbon white cars would entail cleaning, adding an
aeration system, paint/lining and other modifications to the cars. We anticipate
we will convert 10 cars in addition to servicing their fleet of fumed silica.
Recently, Barry Pierce and Larry Shinn of Cabot visited the Fitzgerald shop. It
is always a point of satisfaction to have a Customer tour the plant. While they
here they were able to look at finished carbon black cars, cars in various stages
of repair and most importantly, they were able to see where the cars are being
unloaded and cleaned. Both were impressed with the cleanliness of the area and
the lack of contamination.
Pierce later commented in an
e-mail, “Hey, I wanted to thank
everyone for the great time and
support you guys are giving
us on our rail cars. You have a
great looking shop and everyone
was wonderful, even if
some of you are Alabama fans.”
Shinn added, “It’s good to
know our cars are in good
hands.”
Today we are not only working
these two programs but are
also handling Cabot’s bad orders
and are currently handling
50% of Cabot’s repair work,
not bad considering we started
performing work on their cars in
late 2009. By applying our Customer
First Foundation Principals we have found a new Customer, a new line of
business and are underway for a new long-term relationship.
The photo above is one of the Fitztgerald shops first conversion cars for Cabot. This car was
originally designed to haul carbon black, but by adding aeration to the car it is now suitable to
haul fumed silica (carbon white).
Depressed car gets spruced up
Sometimes when you’re depressed a little pampering can help
things out a bit but the railcar below came into the Jacksonville,
Fla., mechanical shop depressed and left depressed. However,
when it left it had been repaired, blasted and painted and looked
like a brand new car.
The depressed cars, owned by Mammoet, are used mostly to
haul very large transformers for energy companies and have a
gross rail load of 468,000 lbs.
The Houston, Texas, mechanical shop referred this Customer to
the Jacksonville Team. Originally, only one car had been scheduled
for repair work but Mammoet was so pleased with the first car that
they forwarded more business to the shop.

the Dispatch
page 7
WAT C O
W O
R
L D
This section is dedicated to the Watco Team
members to give you a chance to share what’s
happening in your corner of the Watco World.
Births
Ethan James Wyatt Sterling
James and Jessica Sterling
are proud to announce
the birth of their first child,
Ethan James Wyatt. Ethan
was born April 18 and he
weighed 6 lbs., and 6 oz.,
and was 20 inches long.
James is a carman on the
Stillwater Central Railroad
at the Mill Creek, Okla.,
facility.
Ethan James Wyatt Sterling
Nahim Ramirez
Rafael and Jazmin Ramirez are the proud parents
of Nahim Ramirez. Nahim was born on May 12 and
weighed 6 lb., 15 oz.
He was welcomed
home by
twin brothers Obed
and Evet who are
5-years old.
Rafael is an
Inspector at the
mechanical shop in
Hockley, Texas.
Nahim Ramirez
May Anniversaries
Congratulations to the following Watco Team Members
who celebrated anniversaries in May:
1 Year: Kevin Anselmi, Cory Baisch, Cene Cooley, Darren
Faulkner, Miguel Garcia, Trevor Penner, Joe Ramirez,
Edrick Simon, David Soros, Duwayne Springer,
Dale Summers.
2 Years: Jovani Aguilar, Marshall Blinzler, Mark Bohr,
Terry Curtis, Nakia Jenkins, Joe Kauffman, Benjamin
Lewman, Edwin Malish, Prescott Persky, Melvin Risenhoover,
Shaun Rodriguez, David Wilhite.
3 Years: Juan Aguilar, Elva Cook, Wendell Elzy, Ryan
Everhart, Yanas George, Willie Glee, Michael Hubbs,
Chuck King, Chris Labrie, Michael Leady, Richard
Leija, Kenneth McGarity, Danyale Norman, Joseph
Olivo, Miguel Osorio, Lynn Parrish, Fredy Ramos, Hugo
Romero, Chris Spear, Richard Thomas, Travis Schnelle,
Jamie Wheeler, LaJohn Wilson.
4 Years: Randy Bole, Charles Davidson, John Hall, Lester
House, Jaden Jacobs, Jean Le Beau, Gregory Lewis,
Joshua McKern, Keith Schlotman, Leonard Smith, Alfred
Wetklow, Nancy White.
5 Years: Michael Ceci, Aaron Coester, Steven Conrad,
Teresa Gentry, Mark Kuehn, John Martinez, Charles
Rogers, James Saeger, Jerrel Whiteside.
6 Years: Debbie Butts, Nicole Chamberlin, Matthew Gordon,
Wendy Hicks, Donald Hurshman, Bruce Masters,
Larry Mette, Amy Parady, Kameen Thornton, Bradley
Walker, Lance Williams.
7 Years: Matthew Fetzer.
8 Years: John Johnson, James Lilly, Kevin Redman.
9 Years: Garth Coleman, Christopher Hamill, Allen Kellar,
Robert Snow.
10 Years: Harry Irwin, John Johnson, Ed McKechnie,
Joseph Urey.
11 Years: Bruce Glover, Robert Nelson, David Perault,
Casey Thrall.
12 Years: Marlin Hughes, Mitzi Jones-Trevino, Douglas
Marshall, John Watson.
13 Years: Irineo Basurto, Scott Davis, Tarketrick Holden,
Jonathan Holt.
14 Years: Terry Andis, Randall Morehead, John Snow,
Jose Vidal.
15 Years: Tony Delecce, Thomas Thompson.
18 Years: James Hill, Daniel Rico.
20 Years: Bryant Hodge.
22 Years: Wendy Wooden.
23 Years: James Pearson, Ricky Sepulvado, James Smith.
24 Years: Larry Benson, Mark McClellan,
Roger Munday.
25 Years: Danny Barrington.
27 Years: Melvin Beaty.
31 Years: John Leary.
32 Years: Jose Acosta, Frank Jones.
35 Years: Homer Brown.
36 Years: Raymond Kennedy, Lott
Oesch.
39 Years: Nathaniel
Rainey.
41 Years: Larry Snyder.
June Anniversaries
Congratulations to the following Watco Team Members
who celebrated anniversaries in June:
1 Year: Sean Crowe, Justin Frasier, Daniel Garrett, Brian
Knisley, Michael Lyon, Bob McElwee, Bruce Neet, Eliah
Nick, Eloy Rivas, Cliff Seaton, Christopher Tigner, Philip
Willis, Derek Witsman.
2 Years: Douglas Cook, Aaron Crouse, Mark Dent, Casey
Dye, Dennis Gardner, Kenneth Gransbury, Adam Jones,
Shaina Kennedy, Eric Mantz, Jason Messenger, William
Nash, Drexel Newton, Jerry Palmer, Randy Payne,
Christopher Slasinski, Richard Smith, Rendall Thompson,
Matt Troth, Eric Weigand, Landon Williams, Kyle
Yeubanks, Joshua Young.
3 Years: Tiney Andrews, Tony Cox, Lance Crocker, Jack
Grover, Tyler Harshfield, Delmon Horton, Michelle
Hubbard, Alvin King, Tracey Kukovich, Jeffrey Leone,
Michael Martinez, Casey Miller, Teresa Poston, Jerome
Pryor, Gary Richardson, Justin Ring, Gregg Scoggins,
Chuck Stephens, Keith Testerman, Julio Vargas, Heather
Webb.
4 Years: Jorge Anguiano, Lance Blanton, Mikel Canterbury,
Randy Chaney, Ivan Etherton, Eddie Garcia,
Charles Gilmore, Eloy Guerrero, Armando Jimenez,
Timothy Ragsdale, Carlos Ramirez, Philip Robbins,
Howard Roeder, Pete Tavernaro, Jeff Ward.
5 Years: Frankie Carpino, Rodger Gibson,
David Gonzales, Robert Kuehnel, Cameron Lundy,
Randall McIntyre, Misael Olguin, Angelina Pridemore,
Adam Roberts, Anthony Robinson, Gary Sutton.
6 Years: Cheryl Correll, Nolan Darthard, Joseph Fowler,
Raleigh Garrett, Otis Jackson, Billy Mott, Ruben Rodriguez,
Larry Shavers, David Young.
7 Years: Dann Brown, Clint Chestnut, Donnie Creed,
Shawn Eller, Ron Isaacs, Wade Lunt, James Waite.
8 Years: Jean Camphort, Randy Doyle, Daniel Martin,
Carl Silcox, Mark St Aubin, Gregory Wheeler.
9 Years: Mike Salek, Laura Schmidt, Larry Van Houten.
10 Years: Anthony Allender, Jennifer Baucom, Barbara
Crawford, Jesse Gage, Nancy Newbery.
11 Years: Pamela Banks, Edward Gressing, Anthony
Jones, Lisa Radel.
12 Years: Gabriel Carrizalez, Jason Rossman, Thomas
Rutt, Richard Shomo, Charles Thomas.
13 Years: Chad Wilson.
14 Years: Ronald Beach,
Vickie Craig.
17 Years: Steven Bruce,
Willis Iverson, Sally Kissell.
18 Years: Teodoro Arellano.
19 Years: Gary Lundy, Jeffrey
Osmers.
20 Years: Dean Oliver.
21 Years: Jesse Green, Shane Stalford, Richard Thayer.
22 Years: Jerry Elliott, Barry Jack, Jerry Twichell.
23 Years: Todd Meshell, Jack Sepulvado,
Miachel Skipper.
27 Years: Debbie Moody.
29 Years: David Cherry.
31 Years: Dennis Furnas.
32 Years: Gerald Cox.
33 Years: Kenneth Socie.
34 Years: Harold Fickes.
35 Years: Thomas Brenner, Ronald Crissman.
36 Years: David Pope.
37 Years: Richard Bauman.
40 Years: Joe Duncan.

the Dispatch
The newsletter for Watco Companies, Inc. and Watco Transportation Services, Inc.
June 2010, Volume 11, Issue 6
PRST STD
US POSTAGE
PAID
PRADMAR CORP
315 W. Third Street
Pittsburg, KS 66762
www.watcocompanies.com
Austin Western Railroad, Capitol Aggregates & Capital
Metro awarded Argus’ Prestigious Win-Win Prize
By Tracie VanBecelaere
Managing Editor
As president of the North American Rail Shippers
Association (NARS) Allan Roach, Watco’s senior vice
president of business development, , hoped his first
conference as president was a success. And it was,
on several levels. For the first time in history NARS
invited a short line CEO, Watco Rick Webb, to sit on
the Class 1 Railroad CEO/CMO panel. If that was not
enough, Watco also brought home the gold in the form
of the annual Win-Win Award. Argus Rail Business,
a specialist business publication covering the freight
rail industry published by Argus Media, named the
Austin Western Railroad (AWRR), Capitol Aggregates
and Capital Metro Transit Authority (CMTA) as the
first-place winners of its prestigious Win-Win award.
Roach was instrumental in the AWRR winning the
bid to operate the freight portion of CMTA’s rail line
and has worked hand-in-hand with the CMTA and
the Customers since the AWRR began operations in
October of 2007.
The award was announced at the annual NARS meeting
in Washington, DC., on May, 27. The award is
given annually to railroads, shippers and organizations
that develop innovative partnerships leading to improved
service, efficiency and other mutually beneficial
service advancements.
This year's first-place award recognizes how the three
organizations cooperated on a system to operate both
freight and passenger railroad operations over the
same track while developing a profitable new aggregate
shipping service.
“We submitted our application for the award last year
but the commuter operation was delayed,” said Roach.
“When it was submitted again this year the commuter
service was up and running and AWRR had proven
that we could successfully serve our customers in harmony
with commuter operations on the same line.”
"The Austin Western Railroad is honored to share this
award with Capital Metro Transit Authority of Austin,
Texas, and our largest customer, Capitol Aggregates."
"This award underscores the importance of working
together to find solutions that benefit the two parties
involved, as well as the community," said Joel Galassini,
the vice president of sales and marketing for Capitol
Aggregates.
"We greatly appreciate the recognition of a truly
win-win arrangement with Capital Metro, the Austin
Western Railroad and Capitol Aggregates," said Doug
Allen, Capital Metro's interim president and chief
executive officer. "This demonstrates our commitment
to add value to the region."
Abby Caplan, senior editor of Argus Rail Business
presents Allan Roach, Watco’s senior vice president of
business development the Win-Win Award.
The AWRR leased the unprofitable 155-mile rail line
in Austin, Texas, and began operating the line in October
of 2007 and even though owner CMTA was planning
to launch passenger rail service on the same line,
AWRR promised to make the line profitable within
two years. It was a promise they were able to keep.
Capitol Aggregates (Cap Ag) was the line's largest
customer and wanted to increase shipments while at
the same time reducing its reliance on trucks for delivery.
AWRR and Cap Ag worked together to design a
new $6m unit train unloading site along the line that
would handle approximately 15,000 carloads annually.
The plan would reduce Cap Ag's reliance on highways
by 60,000 trucks/year while delivering aggregates in
half the time.
Since the CMTA was preparing to launch passenger
rail service during the day along the same line the
freight would use, the AWRR needed to work with
CMTA and its customers to institute a new scheduling
model to coordinate freight and commuter rail service
within specified windows.
“Mitch Becker, Amy Parady, Keith Barksdale and
our local AWRR operating folks spent a lot of time
modeling schedules and testing them to ensure we
could successfully serve our freight customers in less
time” Roach said. “We would not have won this award
without their hard work and determination to come
up with a new scheduled service, operating plan” said
Roach.
Commuter service began this year, operating during
a 12-hour daytime window, limiting freight shipments
to the remaining 12 hours. Operating passenger and
freight railroads on the same lines is a growing trend,
spurred by recent federal stimulus funds for traditional
and high-speed passenger transit projects.
“We believe this operation will be the model for
future commuter/freight operations in cities that
desire to add commuter operations to existing rail
freight lines,” said Roach. “Even with a commuter line
thrown into the mix, allowing fewer hours for freight
movements, AWRR has profitably moved all its traffic
during the limited window. Cap Ag's shipments have
grown and are expected to reach 40,000 carload shipments/year
during the next four years.
“This is a perfect example of what short lines do best,
finding solutions for shippers to reduce transportation
costs, reduce congestion on highways, reduce emissions
and provide a “green” transportation solution.”
The second-place award went to PSL North America
and CSX and third-place was awarded to BNSF Railway,
the Montana Grain Growers Association, and the
Montana Farm Bureau Federation.