CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin was among the dignitaries taking part in the recent ribbon-cutting ceremonies marking completion of Plasser American’s new 82,000-square-foot manufacturing facility.
Also on hand for opening of the facility, allowing Plasser to more efficiently manufacture its maintenance and other railway machinery at the site that has been its home since 1970, were Johannes Max-Theurer, CEO of Austrian parent company Plasser & Theurer, and Austrian Ambassador to the U.S. Petra Schneebauer.
The expanded facility adds 75 new jobs, bringing Plasser to more than 375 employees. The company averages construction of 40 machines per year, and has built more than 1,800 while delivering more than 2,500.
“Plasser American stands on the cusp of a new era,” Thomas Blechinger, Plasser American CEO, said during the Oct. 5 ceremonies. “Just as the railroad played a pivotal role in our past, it is set to play a transformative role in our future. The renewed emphasis on sustainable practices and environmentally friendly solutions has rekindled interest in rail transport. With its energy efficiency and lower environmental impact, the railway industry is poised to redefine the way, yet again, how we move goods and people across the nation.”
The new facility is part of a $32 million investiment in the Plasser campus, with an overall goal of increasing finished machine output by 100%. It includes four 50-ton overhead cranes and four new tracks tied into the facility’s existing network, allowing improved material movement and streamlined manufacturing processing.
Visit the Plasser American website for more on the company and its products.
During UPRR’s double track project circa 2005, in southern AZ and NM, a Plasser automated computerized tie tamper/regulator with a long cabin was delivered to my telecom district. The Plasser operator complained that while he pressed the PTT button on the VHF radio’s microphone, all the Plasser’s automation would come to a halt.
Having had a previous experience with a brand new ca1987 Ford, “Louisville” 5 ton track dept truck with computerized engine ignition control, I realized what the problem was. In both cases, I replaced the quarter wave VHF antenna with a high gain 5/8 wave Larson antenna, which prevented RF from spreading under the sheet metal skin of the hoods and cabins, due to better antenna directivity and ERP. But also, in the case of the long cabin Plasser, the antenna location had to be moved from over the operator’s computer location to the far end of the cabin to help more prevent RF interference.
I had also installed and repaired/replaced Motorola and Kenwood VHF radios in many other Plasser, (and similar) manufactured track tampers, ballast regulators, motor cars, etc., in NON-computerized track vehicles, including an old HD 8 wheel Ohio crane, but that above described Plasser incident was the only computerized track vehicle that gave me that kind of a shutdown/stalling problem. I’m sure that if I had not retired in 2010, I would have eventually encountered many more of those newer computerized Plasser track equipment vehicle stalling problems. But otherwise, all those Plasser tampers seemed to work well.
Plasser & Theurer is a pioneering leader in its field and Plasser American is no exception.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün