“You drive on it, walk on it, there are buildings made of it,” says Watco Commercial Manager Chuck Carr of the Austin-Western. “It’s a big part of everyday life in Texas.”
Carr is referring to aggregate — sand, gravel, crushed stone — used in producing concrete and asphalt. Mined and produced by Oldcastle Materials at a quarry in Marble Falls, Texas, it must be shipped by rail across the state to major cities including Austin, Corpus Christi, and Houston, for use in constructing highways, parking lots, and industrial, commercial, and residential buildings.
That’s where Watco comes in.
Oldcastle, using heavy machinery, moves the aggregate from the quarry to crushers and blasters, which convert it into various sizes of rock — from boulders to sand. More heavy machinery loads it into railcars, then the Team on the Austin Western moves it. All told, that’s about 40,000 railcars per year, a number that speaks to the tremendous growth occurring in Texas, said Carr, who is a native of the Lonestar State.
Recent projects for Oldcastle products include the Circuit of the Americas track in Austin, the Grand Parkway in Houston and, the Cheniere LNG export facility in Corpus Christi.
Oldcastle was founded in 1978 as the North American arm of CRH, a global building materials producer in Ireland. Oldcastle Texas President Eric Bailey said the company follows a unique business model: acquire small local materials businesses and enable them to maintain their core brand identity and leadership while bringing value to their operations with the resources of a large, multinational corporation.
Watcos’ partnership with Oldcastle began in May 2014. Bailey credited Watco’s willingness to dedicate resources and to be flexible with being an important part of Oldcastle’s ability to grow the business.
“From the start, Watco has always been helpful and willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done, and has partnered consistently with us in tackling any obstacles that arise,” he said. “In our business, the capacity to respond quickly and flexibly to changing circumstances is key, and Watco has proven its ability to do this through superb customer service.”
Bailey noted that on several occasions, Watco retooled its fleet and added locomotives to help keep up with increased volume.
“We’ve been incredibly pleased with the customer service we have received, and look forward to our continued partnership,” he said.
The admiration is mutual, Carr said:
“Oldcastle is an aggressive company, a very forward-thinking company, and we enjoy serving them.”
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