| Greenfield Products official sees bright future locally | | Posted: Wednesday, December 19, 2012 9:09 pm
| By KEVIN BOWDEN
Staff Reporter
A new rail line into the Northwest Tennessee Industrial Park and a new laydown yard is going to create endless new market possibilities for Union City’s Greenfield Products plant, according to a company official.
Since moving to Union City’s industrial park in February 2007, Greenfield Products has been on a path of steady growth.
The multi-million dollar operation has grown from 20 employees in 2007 to now having more than 60 employees at the plant. The success of Greenfield Products comes from the local plant’s commitment to customer service and a consistently high level of quality products.
Greenfield Products just recently completed construction of its new 75,000-square-foot laydown yard, which is serving as a storage area for raw materials and equipment used in the plant. The laydown yard already has numerous large sheets of steel, weighing several tons each, stored behind the Greenfeld Products plant.
The outdoor storage area will be used in conjunction with the CN rail line just a few hundred yards away, according to plant manager Bobby King.
Bulk material will be delivered by rail to the local industrial park and Greenfield Products will be able to unload the material and store it in the laydown yard, according to King. Having access to the CN rail line represents a major development for Greenfield Products, and King credited local economic development officials and the Union City council for helping secure the industrial park rail line.
The rail line and the laydown yard mean Greenfield Products can now promote the plant as a “transload facility” to its customers.
The local industry will be also be able to load and deliver items onto local CN line, which connects to other rail lines in the region. The new rail access will help Greenfield Products keep shipping costs down. That cost savings will be passed along to customers and will help the local industry grow, according to King.
He explained Greenfield Products will be able to transfer loads from the rail line and then use short-haul trucks for deliveries within the industry’s 100-mile market radius.
Among the materials that will be hauled by rail are steel pipes, beams and plates, as well as lumber, industrial products and even liquid materials.
Greenfield Products officials were in town Friday to check out the new laydown yard and the recently completed rail line and said they were very pleased with the progress on the two projects.
Frank Calomino, executive vice president of operations for Mi-Jack Products, said rail access to the plant and the laydown yard will open up markets for Greenfield Products to also handle such items as roofing materials, steel rebar and scrap steel.
Officials with Greenfield Products are also planning to take advantage of West Tennessee’s new Foreign Trade Zone designation and the Cates Landing riverport in Lake County.
“There are endless possibilities for new markets,” Calomino said.
“We really appreciate the support we got from the Union City council on the rail project and now we’re looking forward to taking advantage of this new opportunity,” King said. “The city council’s support for this project was critical.”
Greenfield Products is one of 19 companies owned by Mi-Jack products of Hazel Crest, Ill. That company is a privately-held family-owned group of companies that sells and services heavy equipment machinery across the U.S. and around the world.
The local plant is involved in designing and manufacturing engineered products that are used by large mobile cranes, fork trucks and stand-alone applications. Greenfield Products produces equipment used to move such items as giant earthmoving tires, large shipping containers, steel beams and large trailers.
King supervises a staff that includes engineers, welders, machinists, fabricators, painters and blasters. Their skills go into manufacturing products that are shipped globally for use by major railroads, sea ports, steel and concrete plants.
Greenfield Products is also involved in supplying the wind power industry.
Staff Reporter Kevin Bowden may be contacted by email at kmbowden@ucmessenger.com.
Published in The Messenger 12.19.12 | | | | |
