Wilmington, NC – Sustained record private investment by freight railroads in North Carolina is boosting the economy while making rail networks even safer, more productive, and more efficient. And in the city of Wilmington, manufacturers that supply the rail industry are doubling down on its renaissance.
In November 2014, Vertex Rail Technologies LLC announced it would invest $60 million in its production of new rail cars, creating more than 1,300 jobs. Operations to produce specialty tank cars to serve the country’s oil and energy market will take place in Wilmington’s former Terex Cranes facility. Once operational in 2015, the facility is projected to produce nearly 6,000 safer and more resilient rail cars in its first two years.
Through this project, Vertex will help restore North Carolina’s manufacturing industry while simultaneously revitalizing a building that has been vacant for three years. Counties surrounding the facility are projecting an annual economic impact of $1.1 billion.
“We continue to experience a freight rail renaissance in this country,” said State Representative Frank Iler (R-N.C. 17). “Investments by freight railroads are driving economic growth nationally and right here in North Carolina.”
