Greenbrier Announces Production of 100,000th Intermodal Double Stack Unit
The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. yesterday proudly announced the production of its 100,000th intermodal double stack unit in January. This milestone achievement began more than 32 years ago at Greenbrier’s flagship production and design facility, Gunderson LLC, based in Portland, Oregon.
William A. Furman, Chairman and CEO, said:
“Gunderson has been a pioneer in railcar design since Greenbrier’s 1985 acquisition of this legendary manufacturing facility in operation since 1919. Building 100,000 intermodal double stack units is a significant achievement for Greenbrier. It is the result of years of hard work and dedication provided by our American workforce at Gunderson, which includes many employees who have worked in this facility in Portland for multiple decades”
“Greenbrier’s manufacturing history began with the intermodal double stack railcar at Gunderson in 1985. Greenbrier is proud to build intermodal double stack railcars in America – work that supports more than 1,000 highly-skilled jobs in Portland.”
Intermodal Double Stack Unit
Greenbrier spearheaded the design of double stack railcars which were introduced in North America in the mid-1980s to haul intermodal containers. Double stack technology revolutionised long distance freight transportation by railroads. Using double stack technology, a freight train of a given length can carry roughly twice as many containers, sharply reducing costs per container. These cars are used for nearly 70% of all U.S. intermodal shipments.
Greenbrier produces nearly twice the number of intermodal double stack railcars than its closest competitor and has built approximately 50% of all intermodal double stack railcars operating globally. Greenbrier has evolved and innovated from a railcar builder with a single product offering to a global manufacturer that now provides numerous railcar products and aftermarket solutions to support the transportation needs of thousands of customers, today on four continents.
Furman added:
“The 100,000th intermodal double stack unit is a considerable advancement from the first model built; the result of continuous innovation at Greenbrier. Since 1985, Greenbrier has developed 13 unique designs for intermodal double stack railcars; all to streamline containerised shipping. Our current Maxi-Stack design is an example of Greenbrier’s unwavering dedication to supplying the safest and most efficient railcars in the industry.”
Mark Eitzen, Senior Vice President and General Manager at Gunderson, commented:
“This is a rewarding milestone for Greenbrier and the hard-working team here at Gunderson”
“I am proud of all our team members and appreciate the continued support of our suppliers and customers. We are also pleased to regularly receive quality awards for our intermodal railcars from our leading customer, TTX Company, a top provider of railcars to the North American rail industry. Our success is linked to the railroad industry’s goal to realise substantial financial and environmental savings – our 100,000 intermodal double stack railcars save 15.5 billion truck miles each year resulting in lower emissions and reduced road traffic.”
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