FLORENCE – Navistar the maker of big trucks announced today at the Shoals Economic Development Authority that it will continue with the original purpose of the facility it is leasing from Retirement systems of Alabama. That purpose is, of course, the manufacturing of modern rail-cars.
Today, at the regular meeting, Navistar’s Ray Koopman told business leaders that the company had partnered with FreightCar America to continue producing state-of-the-art rail cars at the Barton Industrial Park Facility. FreightCar America will be taking 25% of the facility – the part of the mile-long plant that is already configured for rail car manufacturing. In the past 14 months, the facility had already produced 150-plus rail cars to fulfill a contract that was written by the plant’s original owner National Alabama, a spin off of a Canadian company, for whom the $650-million facility was originally built. National Alabama backed out of their end of the bargain during the Great Recession, leaving the financier, Retirement Systems of Alabama, (RSA), with egg on its face and holding the bag. Navistar made a deal with RSA to purchase the facility in 2011, but has had numerous problems living up to its end of the bargain, which some have referred to as some kind of curse.
Well, it looks like the curse might be broken with the advent of the new partnership. FreightCar America could begin manufacturing as early as July of this year. Over 400 jobs are expected there by the end of this year.
The Quad-Cities Daily managed a quick interview with Ray Coopman and Bob Andress just as they were heading from SEDA to their next meeting:
