Commodity: Recycled Cardboard
Customers: WestRock and Hamilton Manufacturing
Location: Burley, Idaho Warehouse and the Eastern Idaho Railroad
Watco’s Burley, Idaho Warehouse and the Eastern Idaho Railroad (EIRR) are solving two local businesses’ needs with one new move. WestRock, formerly Kapstone, produces cardboard packaging. The production process results in cardboard waste that can be sold as recyclable material. Hamilton Manufacturing produces a variety of products, but they use recycled cardboard as an ingredient in their insulation and erosion control products.
Given the two businesses proximity, it made sense for WestRock to sell its waste cardboard to Hamilton, and the Watco Team was able to put together a solution that worked in the best interest of both Customers.
“Hamilton Manufacturing reached out to us to see if we had some sort of transloading option for this recycled, shredded cardboard, and if we had trucking capability to bring it over to them,” said Commercial Manager Luke Bellamy. “We told them about the Burley Warehouse, which can hold seven railcars and has plenty of storage space. They really liked that option and it’s worked out well for everyone.”
WestRock was already an EIRR Customer, and receives boxcars loaded with paper rolls at their plant. During the carboard production process, some inevitably gets damaged or doesn’t meet their specifications. Some of that material can be run back through production, but since there’s a large market for high quality recycled cardboard, often, WestRock will shred and bale the waste.
Since there are already empty boxcars on-site, they’ll load the bales before the EIRR returns to pull the cars. The Burley Warehouse is on the way back to interchange, so they’ll make a brief stop there for the warehouse team to unload them. This effectively allows Watco and WestRock to get two loaded trips per car for each interchange cycle with our Class I carrier, Union Pacific.
Hamilton previously had a rail spur, but it fell into disrepair over the years. That’s what makes the Burley Warehouse an integral part of the move. Hamilton needed to receive the recycled cardboard by truck. At the warehouse, the bales, which look like large hay bales and weigh about 160 pounds each, are unloaded by forklift and either stored in the warehouse or cross-docked directly to waiting trucks.
“The Customers are both happy. It’s easier for WestRock to load this excess product onto rail because of where the shredder is in their plant. It comes right out of the shredder and can go directly into the railcar. Given the current circumstances, it’s much easier for Hamilton to receive the product by truck,” Bellamy said.
Hamilton uses the cardboard in the insulation they produce, but it’s primarily used in their erosion control products. If you’ve ever seen a blue-green liquid sprayed on side of a highway or someone’s yard, that was hydroseeding. It’s a mixture of water, fertilizer, grass seed, and finelyshredded cardboard. The cardboard acts the same way that straw does, if you’ve ever seen a yard or roadside covered with it. It protects and holds in moisture, promoting quick plant growth.
The Watco Team was able to quickly put together a new solution that accommodated both Customers’ needs, utilizing existing infrastructure. WestRock found a local Customer for one of its waste products, and Hamilton Manufacturing is able to source a necessary ingredient from a nearby business, resulting in cost savings for the company. “It’s a pretty efficient little move,” said Bellamy.
“It’s really nice that we’re able to get two Customers hooked up, and we’re using the EIRR and the Burley Warehouse to do it. It’s the perfect storm for all of us.”