How WVCO’s Partnership with REMSA Benefits the Rail Products Industry

Our official credo at Willamette Valley Company (WVCO) is “Partnering Through Service,Innovation, And Integrity”. We believe our longstanding partnerships with leading trade associations are integral to our customer’s success and has helped WVCO ascend as one of the leading North American companies in the rail products industry. 

The unique relationships we have with elite professional organizations like American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA), American Short Line & Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) and Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association (REMSA) enable us to better serve our customers by giving us access to the latest technologies, methodologies, and resources.

In this post, we are spotlighting our partnership with REMSA, a non-profit trade group representing over 330 railway engineers, contractors, and consultants and maintenance-of-way suppliers across the country. WVCO Business Manager, Rob Loomis, is on REMSA’s Board of Directors where he serves as Government Affairs Chairman. Rob is uniquely qualified for this position as he has been at the forefront of developing innovating solutions for tie remediation with polymer materials and state-of-the-art equipment to increase efficiency for over a decade. 

The rail supply industry contributes a hefty amount to our global economy and  gross domestic product (GDP) and employs more than 125,000 people in our country. In a 2018 economic impact study, Tracking the Power of Rail Supply: The Economic Impact of Rail Suppliers in the U.S., REMSA partnered with other organizations to quantify the economic and workforce impact of the products and services produced by the railway supply industry. According to the report, the economic contribution of the railway supply industry amounted to more than $74.2 billion in gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017 and they paid $16.9 billion in taxes to local, state and federal governments.  

REMSA’s mission is to facilitate global business development opportunities to companies and individuals who manufacture or sell maintenance-of-way equipment, products, and services or are engineers, contractors, and consultants working in construction and/or maintenance of railroad transportation facilities. 

One of the things we value the most about our partnership with REMSA is their efforts to advance initiatives and unite railroad maintenance-of-way suppliers in support of the rail industry through grassroots advocacy.  To date, REMSA’s Grassroots Program has hosted 33 Members of Congress at member company facilities, including a 2018 event for Congressman Peter DeFazio hosted here in our Eugene, Oregon facility. The program has also generated over 200 rail industry and local media articles, highlighting the products and services of our membership.

REMSA is also a sponsor of Railway Interchange, the largest combined railway exhibition and technical conference in North America. WVCO has had the honor of participating in this world-class rail industry event many times by showcasing our WVCO Railroad and POLYQuik products, and we look forward to participating once again in 2023.

To learn more, watch this video below to learn more about REMSA’s key membership value initiatives and its role in supporting the maintenance of way industry and be sure to visit www.remsa.org.