Voestalpine Nortrak, or VAE Nortrak, is a manufacturer of

railroad track Railway track ( and International Union of Railways, UIC terminology) or railroad track (), also known as permanent way () or "P way" ( and English in the Commonwealth of Nations#Indian subcontinent, Indian English), is the structure on a Ra ...

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 Richmond is a city in the coastal Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly a suburban city, it occupies almost the entirety of Lulu Island (excluding Queensborough, New Westminster, Queensborough), between the two estuarine dis ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. In 1990, Voest-Alpine Eisenbahnsysteme of

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, 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 achieved sales of around €930 million in 2016 and, , had more than 4,000 employees. Vossloh can trace its origins ...

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 Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, was completed in 1992, and a third operation in

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Wyoming, most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming. It is the county seat of Laramie County, Wyoming, Laramie County, with 65,132 reside ...

, 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 of and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality in Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The ...

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

, and

Chicago Heights, Illinois Chicago Heights is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 27,480 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A south suburb of Chicago, it is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. Its nicknames include "The Cro ...

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

manganese Manganese is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese was first isolated in the 1770s. It is a transition m ...

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 (Compression (physics), compressed) during production, in a manner that strengthens it against tensile forces which will exist when in service. Post-t ...

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 trans ...

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 in Macon County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

, 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 Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

, 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 Rail infrastructure manufacturers