Voestalpine Nortrak, or VAE Nortrak, is a manufacturer of

railroad track A railway track (British English and UIC terminology) or railroad track (American English), also known as permanent way or simply track, is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties (sleepers, ...

components. It started in October 1981 as Nortrak Railway Supply Ltd., an industrial supplier of new and used railroad track components. In November 1983, the company began manufacturing trackwork in Richmond, British Columbia,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. In 1990, Voest-Alpine Eisenbahnsysteme of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, which had been in the trackwork manufacturing business for over 140 years and became independent of Voest-Alpine AG that same year, formed a joint venture with Nortrak Ltd. and the company became known as VAE Nortrak Ltd. Voest-Alpine Eisenbahnsysteme became known as VAE Group, 90 percent owned by a joint venture between Voest-Alpine and

Vossloh AG Vossloh AG is a rail technology company based in Werdohl in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The SDAX-listed group has achieved sales of around €930 million in 2016 with more than 4,000 employees (as of 2017). Vossloh is a globa ...

starting in 1998, and a subsidiary of voestalpine AG since 2003. A second plant in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, was completed in 1992, and a third operation in

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne metropolitan statistical ...

, was completed in 1997, where the company now has its headquarters. In January 2004, VAE Nortrak North America Inc., acquired the assets of its competitor, Meridian Rail Track Products Corp. with operations at

Pueblo, Colorado Pueblo () is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Pueblo County, Colorado, Pueblo County, Colorado ...

Newton, Kansas Newton is a city in and the county seat of Harvey County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 18,602. Newton is located north of Wichita. The city of North Newton is located immediately north and e ...

, and Chicago Heights, Illinois. In November 2004, Nortrak acquired the assets of Rail Products and Fabrications including a trackwork plant and a

manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...

foundry in Seattle, Washington. In 2007, Nortrak purchased two buildings in Cheyenne which allowed the company to add

prestressed concrete Prestressed concrete is a form of concrete used in construction. It is substantially "prestressed" ( compressed) during production, in a manner that strengthens it against tensile forces which will exist when in service. Post-tensioned concreted i ...

railroad tie A railroad tie, crosstie (American English), railway tie (Canadian English) or railway sleeper (Australian and British English) is a rectangular support for the rails in railroad tracks. Generally laid perpendicular to the rails, ties transfer ...

s to its business lines. On March 27, 2009, voestalpine AG said VAE Nortrak bought the assets of Leading Edge Enterprises of

Decatur, Illinois Decatur ( ) is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois, with a population of 70,522 as of the 2020 Census. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Ce ...

, in the first step toward expanding its railway division. On April 1, 2010, Nortrak announced it is now majority owner of DAMY Cambios de Vía, S.A. de C.V. of Guadalajara, Mexico, a leading Mexican manufacturer of trackwork for over 40 years, to be renamed Nortrak-DAMY.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:voestalpine Nortrak Inc. Manufacturing companies of Canada 1981 establishments in British Columbia Companies established in 1981 Manufacturing companies of the United States Voestalpine