PowerRail, the world’s leader in engineering, manufacturing, and distribution of aftermarket locomotive parts, will be leaving their current facility in Duryea (shown) and relocating to the former Pride Mobility facilities in Exeter Borough over the next three months.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Paul Foster, 63, PowerRail president & CEO, explains how his company will take an old locomotive part, improve upon it and remanufacture a better replacement part.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
PowerRail’s inventory of new or remanufactured locomotive parts will be shipped to the new facilty over the next three months.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
PowerRail employee Tony Weitock looks over an electronic locomotive part to be overhauled and remanufactured at the Duryea facility.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
PowerRail, a locomotive aftermarket parts manufacturing and distribution company headquarted in Duryea visited and toured their new facilities at the former Pride Mobility building, Susquehanna Ave., Exeter. Approximately 80 employes, executives, and Exeter Borough officials toured the new facilities on Dec. 3. Standing left to right: Denise Adams, Exeter Borough mayor; Kendra Radle, Exeter Borough manager; Kevin Wright, PowerRail VP of Operations & Finance; Joan Foster; Paul Foster, PowerRail president & CEO; Butch Gaudet, PowerRail VP of Engineering; John Morgan, Exeter Borough council; Tom Casper, PowerRail VP of Operations; Jim Fazio, PowerRail VP of Procurement.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
EXETER — PowerRail, the largest company in the world in engineering, manufacturing, and distribution of aftermarket locomotive parts, will be moving into the former Pride Mobility plant on Susquehanna Avenue over the next three months.
PowerRail, led by 63-year-old President & CEO Paul Foster, was formed in 2003 after Foster left a high level position with General Electric. The company initially worked out of the City of Wilkes-Barre for three years before settling in on over seven acres of land, working out of multiple buildings in Duryea in 2006.
Starting in Duryea with one building, Foster gradually purchased surrounding dissolving companies’ buildings — three in total — over time.
With the company growing not only nationally, but also internationally, and space becoming a premium, it was time to look for a bigger facility.
“We started growing and growing and growing, and I have some other locations throughout the country, but we are outgrowing our Duryea location,” Foster said. “We have about 90,000 square feet here in Duryea, and we’re moving into a 200,000 sqare foot facility at the former Pride building.”
The move will be no easy task, but Foster and his team are up for the challenge. The move makes sense for PowerRail because of the additional space needed, but to have everyone work in one facility will be a huge improvement.
“The main thing is we will all be under one roof,” Foster said. “We have synergies where I have a fab shop in one building and machine shop across the street and sometimes I have a component where I have to send one part back and forth four or five times, and now it will be all under one roof. We are also going to save on utilities, which will reduce our carbon footprint by about 60%.”
On Friday, Dec. 3, Exeter Borough Mayor Denise Adams, borough Manager Kendra Radle and Councilman John Morgan were invited to tour the new facility along with the entire PowerRail staff of employees and executives from Duryea.
“I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for Exeter Borough,” Denise Adams, Exeter Borough mayor, said. “When they get this building up and running they plan on adding additional employees, which will be great for our area. Paul Foster is wonderful and he’s already building relationships with surrounding businesses. Having PowerRail in Exeter will be a tremendous asset.”
PowerRail’s growth over the years
“The business model when I moved to Duryea was totally different than what I have now. When we moved to Duryea, we were just a distributor and a small remanufacturer. Today we are manufacturing new and have remanufacturing facilities all over the country and parts distribution globally.”
Foster said his parts exports business used to be approximately 5% and now it’s up to 35%.
“There are many companies in the world that either specialize in locomotive parts manufacturing, or electrical or distribution,” Butch Gaudet, VP of Engineering, said. “We are unique in the field … we do it all.”
Guadet, who also oversees all production, is confident they are the only company in the world that is a one-stop-shop in the locomotive industry.
PowerRail has facilities in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Georgia, and Indiana as well as Europe and Australia, employing a total of 152 employees, 80 of which work out of Duryea, according to Deborah Crockett, PowerRail Corporate Human Resources manager.
The numbers of employees will grow significantly over time.
“We are going to need welders, machinists, warehouse personnel, production assembly people and more,” Crockett said. “We will start putting out wanted ads sometime after the first of the New Year.”
Before a substantial number of employees can be hired, PowerRail will be looking to remodel the entire facility with the exception of the warehouse area over the next few months.
A major overhauling of the former Pride offices will be demolished to make way for a new floor plan suited for PowerRail.
“We’re going to be tearing out a lot in the office areas,” Foster said; on remodeling the former Pride building. “Right now our offices are cramped and I have my engineer staff across the street, I have my accountant in another building, and I have people in Avoca, so now we will all be together.”
Foster said most of his current buildings lack proper heat and have no air conditioning, but the new facility will have adequate heating and cooling.
PowerRail, an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) company, sold 30% of the company to the employees in recent times.
“Making my company an ESOP company was the best thing I ever did,” Foster admitted. “It makes my employees happy and everyone is heavily involved with the company, making suggestions, cutting costs, etc. I took some of my key guys and made them partners in the business as well.”
The future of PowerRail
Manufacturing or remanufacturing dated locomotive parts from the 1940s and later is where PowerRail excels. They take an old existing part and make it better, according to Butch Gaudet, but Foster believes the future in locomotives is battery power.
“We are going to be involved in building the first battery operated locomotive in the world,” Foster said. “We are not going to manufacture the locomotive, but we will be a subcontractor.”
Foster said the basic build of the new locomotives would be the same, with the biggest difference in cutting out fossil fuels.
One program that Foster is looking forward to is forming a partnership with Wyoming Area School District, since his new property line backs up to the Wyoming Area Secondary Center.
“The school is right next door and I’d like to set up a work study program with high school students to learn a trade in our industry,” Foster expressed. “My vision is to set up some type of classroom and even pay the kids to go to class.”
There will be a lot of activity at the Susquehanna Avenue location in the next three months, including moving PowerRail’s caboose parked at the Duryea facility to its new home in Exeter.
Deborah Crockett said there will be an official grand opening ceremony and other activities slated at the completion of the move and remodeling late spring 2022.
