Railroad Leverages Location and Industrial Development Capabilities to Win New Business
When Sweetener Supply Corp., a Brookfield, Illinois-based manufacturer and marketer of food-grade ingredients, identified a need for a new production facility, it chose a site along G&W’s Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway (TPW) in White County, Indiana.
TPW worked collaboratively with Sweetener and White County for more than two years to bring the project to fruition, structuring a unique transaction to create a 15-acre parcel from railroad- and county-owned property. The parcel was then deeded to Sweetener for construction of its $20 million, 180,000-square-foot facility. TPW subsequently worked on a plan to provide Sweetener with a rail spur to the building.
Once construction is completed, Sweetener plans to relocate equipment from its facility in Berwyn, Illinois. The company expects to be operational by early 2022 – with Sweetener receiving inbound railcars of sugar and related products as well as cellulose wood pulp, which is processed into an anti-caking material for products such as cheese, baked goods and pet foods.
“This success is the byproduct of G&W’s industrial development, real estate, engineering, marketing/sales and government/industry affairs teams working with TPW operations to provide a fine site and arrangements to attract Sweetener Supply,” says Michael Miller, president of G&W North America. “TPW is a great railroad for industrial development sites because it offers safe and reliable accesses to many Class I railroads both in the east and west.”
Proximity to Interstate 65, rail service and convenience for the company’s employees were major factors in selecting the location in the Mid-America Commerce Park, according to Sweetener Supply’s president, Joe Gardella.
TPW runs 273 miles through Indiana and Illinois, transporting primarily agricultural products, chemicals and plastics, and minerals and stone.