Major Texas Railcar Repair And Maintenance Facility Rebuilt And Dedicated Following Destruction By Hurricane Rita In 2005.

Rescar's major railcar repair, maintenance, and cleaning facilities suffered a direct hit in the dark early morning of September 24, 2005 as Hurricane Rita passed over the company's 63 acre facility at Orange, Texas. Cleaning facilities were destroyed and everything else was heavily damaged. On Wednesday, October 18, 2006 Rescar gathered its employees, customers, and local community members to dedicate the completely redesigned and rebuilt facility - now a model for other Rescar shops throughout North America.

During the past three years, Rescar has totally revamped its railcar process so that the average time railcars spend in its facilities has dropped from the industry-average 70-75 days down to less than 40 days, while quality and safety have improved throughout the company.

"Once we accounted for our employees and started to get over the shock of the unprecedented damage caused by Rita, we asked ourselves if we wanted to simply repair the damage, or if we wanted to make this another step along our path to providing Maximum Velocity for our customers," Joe Schieszler, Jr., Rescar President and CEO, told guests at Wednesday's dedication ceremony. "We knew what needed to be done to make Orange our flagship facility, so we decided this was our opportunity to do just that. Everyone at Orange suffered more than the damage that was done to our shops, and I'm extremely proud that our team here pulled together to do the hard work that resulted in today's virtually new facility. It will better serve our customers, our employees and the community of Orange.

"Today's event is proof of what we knew when we faced the destruction one year ago. We were down, but we were not out."

The Culmination of Rescar's Experience

The Orange facility stands as the culmination of all the lessons Rescar has learned in its nearly four-decade history. The rebuilt facilities were designed to facilitate the most up-to-date Rescar processes. "For our customers--who rely on us to help them achieve the highest possible utilization of their valuable railcar fleets--we expect the changes put in place at Orange will move us toward our goal of further reducing average time in shop to just 24 days," Schieszler said.

This dramatic increase in the velocity of Rescar's process will strengthen its industry leadership, which will attract more work to the Orange facility and its employees. The facility currently handles approximately 2,700 cars annually.

"What we have built at Orange," says Schieszler, "is a much nicer place to work. We have increased the amount of space and light at many work areas. Rebuilt parts storage areas are much better organized. Orange is a reflection of our commitment to improved capabilities and safety. Plus it makes our community an even better place to work and live," he says.

The next step in the reinvention of Rescar will be to bring the six other major company shops up to standards set by Orange. Though the layout and physical characteristics of each of these shops is unique, they will all be identical in process, work flow and customer information when their refurbishments are finished.

A Full-Service Facility

The full-service facility at Orange is located on 63 acres, has 8.6 miles of track that can accommodate 400-plus cars and has approximately 200,000 square feet under roof with room for up to 90 cars. Located in the heart of the petroleum, petrochemical and chemical refining industry in Texas and Louisiana near Beaumont, Texas, Orange provides a comprehensive menu of services including:

Freight Cars

• Plant Services
• General repair
• Rebuilding
• Wreck repairs
• Inspections
• Exterior painting
• Coating applications
• Covered hopper cleaning
• Wheel replacements
• Air brake cleaning
• Roller bearing replacement
• AAR bill preparation

Tank Cars

• AAR Shop Certification to repair, alter and convert tank car tanks (ref. AAR spec for tank cars)
• Certified tank tests
• Certified safety valve tests
• Cleaning
• Inspections
• Exterior painting
• Coating applications
• Wheel replacements
• Roller bearing replacements
• AAR bill preparation

About The Rescar Companies
The Rescar Companies (www.rescar.com) provide complete repair, maintenance, cleaning, and consulting services (AllTranstek) to owners, lessors and users of rail freight cars throughout North America. A privately held company based in Downers Grove, Illinois, Rescar has been dedicated to serving the rail industry since 1969. It provides Maximum Velocity to support today's efficient global supply chain management systems, leading the industry by reducing cycle times through its facilities by nearly 50 percent since 2003, while improving quality and safety across the Rescar system. Services are provided by Rescar at seven major shops and some 60 mini-shops, as well as at in-plant locations and mobile service operations in the United States and Canada. Rescar also provides around-the-clock troubleshooting at 800-737-2276.

AllTranstek, LLC, a unit of The Rescar Companies, provides railroad transportation management and consulting services. Its core competence includes fleet management, maintenance management, and maintenance facility support. AllTranstek was formed in 1999 when The Rescar Companies acquired AllTrans and combined that company with its already existing TRANSTEK Solutions unit.