Vertex doubling railcar production, feeding area children

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Vertex Railcar Corporation let cameras on the facility Tuesday to take a look at its progress.

From welding to filling concrete, it is all hands on deck.

“We are working on Phase 1 which is completing production of 300 hopper cars,” Government Liason Foster Sayers said.

Sayers said it is five hundred thousand square feet of production, 105 employees and advanced technology from their partners China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation, but cameras were not allowed to get too close.

“That’s because they have designed state of the art jigs and fixtures that will maximize our throughput at the facility,” Sayers said.

The design remains a secret, but Sayers did tell us how it will bring success.

“We expected that we could produce 4500 cars here,” Sayers said. “With their design engineering and optimization, we now believe we can produce 8,000 cars a year.”

He said that means they will need 1,300 employees to be fully operational and railcar production is not where it ends. That’s because of CEO Donald Croteau.

“Being someone who grew up that didn’t always have food, shelter, and physical safety security, it’s important to him that children in this area don’t go through that as well,” Sayers said.

That’s why he said they worked with non-profits before they even touched the first railcar.

“To help ensure that children are fed,” Sayers said.

It’s all about the Vertex philosophy, “be good do good.”

“The do good part of that means that we not only treat our employees well, but we also benefit the communities that they are in,” Sayers said.

By the end of this year, they want to have 250 employees. In 2016 Sayers said they want to increase their production capability. He said they will not be fully operational until they are fully staffed.