Recycled plastic railroad ties draw investor interest

By Ron Shinn 

Evertrak LLC, a manufacturer of composite railroad ties, has attracted investment from Sumitomo Corporation of America (SCOA). 

The amount of investment was not disclosed, but Evertrak founder Tim Noonan said SCOA purchased a minority stake. Evertrak, based in St. Louis, has 30 employees. 

Evertrak buys recycled high-density PE and PP flake to mix with glass fiber from Owens Corning, an Evertrak partner. The mixture is blended, then run through a single-screw Davis-Standard extruder. The 400-degree extruded material is cast into a conformal shape and cools for a couple of hours before being taken out of the mold. 

The 220-pound composite tie weighs about the same as a wood tie, is installed the same way and can be interspersed with wood ties. Evertrak does not say how long its ties will last, but their lifespan exceeds wood ties, which need to be replaced every eight to 15 years. 

Noonan said the company has manufactured more than 200,000 ties thus far and more than 100,000 are already in use with no reported problems. The current plant in St. Louis has capacity to make about 200,000 ties a year. 

SCOA, headquartered in New York City, is the largest subsidiary of Sumitomo Corp., which is based in Tokyo. It describes itself as an international investor and financier. One of its core interests is the transportation industry.