Greenbrier and Watco have agreed to separate their railcar repair operations, citing insufficient demand for retrofitting tank cars to transport oil by rail.
GBW Railcar Services was formed in 2014 to help both companies address what was expected to be a nationwide boom for tank cars to transport oil by rail.
“For a variety of reasons, tank car services and retrofits never materialized in the volumes anticipated by Watco and Greenbrier at the time we formed GBW,” said William A. Furman, Greenbrier’s chairman and CEO, in a statement Monday.
In dissolving GBW, the assets and employees of 12 shops return to Greenbrier and 14 shops return to Watco. Four mobile shops will be transferred to Watco.
Greenbrier’s repair shops will be managed by Rick Turner, senior vice president for wheels and parts at Greenbrier Rail Services. The company owns a lease fleet of more than 8,500 railcars and provides fleet management services to owners of more than 368,000 railcars.
Meanwhile, Furman said Greenbrier will “look forward to maintaining our close relationship with Watco and will explore new opportunities to collaborate in other areas to serve the needs of our customers.”