ANN ARBOR, Mich. — DTE Rail Services, a subsidiary of DTE Coal Services, purchased Mid-States Railcar Inc. in a move designed to expand the company’s presence in the Midwest.
Mid-States Railcar, based in Clinton, Ind., provides railcar maintenance, repair and inspection services to the electric utility and general freight car markets. The $2.7 million deal will include Mid-States Railcar’s repair shops, railcar storage facilities, blast and painting facilities, and railcar cleaning capabilities, all adjacent to the CSX rail line.
“This purchase follows our plan of maintaining more railcars and expediting the movement of coal across the country,” said Evan J. O’Neil, president of DTE Coal Services. “Mid-States fits in very well with our strategy to build our business slowly, carefully and strategically.”
DTE Rail Services owns and operates railcar repair facilities in Grand Island and Hastings, Neb., and Wheatfield and Michigan City, Ind. These Nebraska locations situate DTE Rail Services between the main lines of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe and the Union Pacific railroads, making it a designated interchange point for both railroads.
The new facility will allow expansion into central Indiana and plans call for expanding the Clinton facility from 10 acres to 50 acres over three years to accommodate additional track for storage and staging. The 30 Mid-States employees will remain with DTE Rail Services.
DTE Rail Services has a servicing capacity of more than 20,000 cars per year with 32 miles of track for storage and fleet services. The company’s railcar maintenance and repair services include rebuilding, repair, fabricating, JIC inspection, preventive maintenance, painting and mobile repair, and locomotive maintenance, repair and resale. More information is at www.dters.com .
DTE Coal Services, a subsidiary of DTE Energy, operates coal sourcing, transportation, marketing, trading and other services nationally to electric utilities, steel companies and other industries. DTE Coal Services transports coal to third parties by rail and aids power plants in reducing fuel costs. It also supplies coal procurement and logistics services to its customers. More information is at www.dtecs.com .