YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
Trains keep goods running across the country at lightning speeds and commuter rail in cities like Chicago ensure enormous numbers of people get to and from work every day. But no one thinks about all the parts it takes to make a train move, including the wheelsets. The Ozarks is home to a rare gem, a company that manufactures and services locomotive wheelsets, one of less than a handful in the nation.
SBJ: How did you get into locomotive wheelsets?
Jeremiah Erickson: There’s not a lot of shops out there that just do just the locomotive wheels. There was basically a sweet spot, and that’s kind of where we land – we’re not doing high production, but we’re not doing ones and twos. Wheelsets are like tires on your car, you’re going to have to change the tire if you want to keep driving. So, there is a good rotation of them. Opening the wheel shop was a good transition for us, because I was already in the locomotive market for the railroads, so I knew all of the contacts already.
SBJ: What’s the demand for locomotive wheelsets and repair services?
Erickson: Locomotives, they’re like airplanes. They can be infinitely rebuilt. There are locomotives out there that were built in 1950 and they’re still going. So, they have a long, long, long life cycle. The wheels have a pretty long life cycle as well, but as much as they operate, you know, they need to be changed out or reprofiled.
SBJ: How many wheelsets go on a train?
Erickson: You’d see anywhere from four to six underneath a locomotive. Rail cars generally have four wheels underneath one rail car. A rail car can handle three to four semitruck’s worth of load, so they can hold a lot of weight. And then that one locomotive may be pulling 20 to 50 rail cars.
SBJ: How would you describe your product lineup?
Erickson: It’s a variation of wheels. Within the railroad world, there are different types of wheels. The locomotive wheels are the No. 1 thing for us. We reprofile rail car wheels for passenger cars for the Chicago’s transit system, we do a lot for maintenance away machines, which are basically the machines that work on the track. We do a lot of work for companies doing maintenance on their wheels. So, there are different product lines, maybe four or five different ones that we do.
SBJ: What’s the reach of your product beyond the Ozarks?
Erickson: Our wheelsets are all over the U.S. I’ve got a few customers in Canada, as well. My market is all of North America. And there’s still a lot of growth potential for us, there’s opportunity in Mexico, more opportunity in Canada, and we’re just starting into Canada.
SBJ: What’s next for Messiah Locomotive Services?
Erickson: Within the industry, there are different types of wheelsets. We’re in the process of upgrading our certifications to be able to do Amtrak and passenger trains. We’re already certified to do locomotives and reprofiling. So, we’re expanding into these other markets. We’re also looking to expand the facility, which will include transitioning away from the manual machines and getting more into the CNC versions.
Taking shape on 3.5 acres just east of State Highway H/Glenstone Avenue in the area of Valley Water Mill Park are the Fulbright Heights Apartments – three 23,000-square-foot buildings with 24 units each for a total of 72 one- and two-bedroom apartments.
