Nordco Inc., a leading provider of railroad maintenance-of-way machinery and related services, has expanded its product line with the acquisition of Central Power Products Inc., the manufacturer of the Shuttlewagon Railcar Mover.

“We are very pleased to welcome Shuttlewagon as the newest addition to the Nordco family,” said Bruce Boczkiewicz, Nordco president and chief executive officer. “Shuttlewagon has a reputation for quality and innovation. It builds on our mission to be a solutions provider to the railroad industry, while providing the opportunity to serve new markets.”

Based in Grandview, MO, Shuttlewagon’s customers include North American railroads and public transit systems, as well as industries that rely heavily on rail transportation, such as port authorities, agriculture, mining, chemicals, and energy. 

Shuttlewagon uses rubber tires for traction instead of steel wheels. Rubber tires offer a competitive advantage and benefit to customers by allowing the railcar mover to pull more railcars than comparably sized movers using steel wheel technology. This makes it possible to move both fully loaded and empty railcars more effectively and causes less wear and tear than the steel wheel design.

Shuttlewagon is the third major acquisition by Nordco in the past 19 months. In September 2006, the company acquired J.E.R. Overhaul, a rebuilder of railroad maintenance machinery and components based in Arcola, IL. In March of 2007, Nordco acquired Dapco Industries and Dapco Technologies, headquartered in Ridgefield, CT. Dapco designs and builds sophisticated mobile testing systems to detect flaws in railroad track, and stationary test systems for mills and other industries. 

Nordco designs and manufactures machinery used to lay, repair, clear, and maintain railroad track. It also provides repair parts and related services for North American Class 1 railroads, regional and short-line railroads, public transit systems, contractors, equipment leasing companies, and others. The company is headquartered in Oak Creek, WI, and has manufacturing plants in Oak Creek and Oshawa, ON, Canada.