Savage Services to buy Quality Rail Services

Salt Lake City-Savage Services Corp. said Dec. 29 that it has entered into definitive agreements to acquire the assets and the locomotive and rail services business of Quality Rail Services LLC of Golden, Colo. (QRS). The transaction is expected to close on Dec. 31, 2008. QRS is an industry leader and pioneer in providing specialized services to the nation’s Class 1 Railroads with locomotive fueling, mechanical, and other support services on an outsource basis. QRS primarily serves customers located in the western and central US, with 30 locations serving the BNSF, Kansas City Southern, and Union Pacific railroads, as well as many of the railroads’ customers. Savage, a North American leader in providing services to its customers engaged in oil refining, chemicals, coal production, electric power generation, and the Class I railroads, sees this opportunity to extend a 62-year tradition of service by responding to the railroads’ initiatives to continually improve velocity and capacity. Savage provides “Best Value-No Worry” services in many arenas to the U.S. Class 1 railroads and their customers through its extensive transload network, industrial switching, and short line platforms. Further, Savage, through its subsidiary CANAC Railway Services Inc. of Montreal, Quebec, provides the railroad industry with railroad engineering, planning, design, rehabilitation, and rail training services. Savage owns and/or operates large bulk terminals for coal, petroleum coke, sulfur, and other commodities, as well as system-based transportation moving over 140 million tons annual of coal, coke, waste coal, waste ash, and sulfur. It also provides on-site operations and management services for large power plants and oil refiners. The company has over 110 operations in 31 U.S. states and five Canadian Provinces. The QRS business will be rebranded as Savage QRS and will continue to be based in Golden, Colorado. Jim Moschetti, a long-time rail industry executive and formerly with QRS, will become the Savage QRS leader as its senior vice president. Bob Sleeker, formerly vice president of marketing of QRS, will become vice president-business development for the new organization.