Every year, team leaders from each Holland Department get together to discuss highs and lows of the previous years, and the ways in which improvements can be made in the year to come.
Presentations and breakout meetings followed by company dinners and team bonding exercises are just a few of the events that took place at this week-long learning session called Holland University.
Kicking off the New Year comes NRC's annual convention in San Diego. Maggie Vuono, Holland's National Sales Manager, has been asked to speak on a panel for the League of Railway Women once again.The topic of this year's NRC discussion panel is "Superwomen: Breaking Barriers and Biases." Maggie will be joined by Beverly Bailey of Stronghold Engineering and Amanda Bewley of Knife River Corporation on January 6, 2-4pm local time.
We're so honored to have Holland's very own Taisha Poulin featured as REMSA's (Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association) December Member-of-the-Month! Taisha started with us this year, but she's not new to the industry! After spending the last 2 years at the Canadian Association of Railway Suppliers handling their Membership Services and Events, she then joined our sales team as the Key Account Manager for Eastern Canada.
In her interview with REMSA, she sys, "The Railroads may have been known to carry the 'Old Boys Club' title in the past, but I have to say it doesn’t feel that way. I work with amazing people, men and women who are hard -working, intelligent and share the love for the industry."
You can read more of Taisha's interview and subscribe to the Mainline newsletter from REMSA by visiting remsa.org
Holland’s very own Paul Lindemulder is set to present on “The Development of Manganese Steel Laser Additive Welding as a Means of Special Trackwork Repair” at this year’s AusRAIL Conference.
Paul’s topic of presentation is on one of Holland’s newest technologies – the LaserWelder™. The laser welding service includes pre-weld material removal using plasma cutting and robotically controlled hot wire laser cladding welding to build back the damaged area on a frog repair. This service is proven to be more efficient than traditional frog repairs, cutting work time nearly in half and significantly lowering the chance of repeat damages in the future.
September 22nd - 25th was filled with fun at Railway Interchange in Minneapolis, MN! The show debuted some of Holland's latest innovations as well as featured some of our very own rail experts. Our indoor booth was bustling as we shared information on our new Gage Inspector, Rail Car Products, Sparkless Carbide Saw, and Manufacturing Capabilities.
We also featured techncial sessions on various products and softwares that help our customers make the best decisions for maintenance of way projects.
We're so pleased to announce that Scott McLaughlin will be serving as the Regional Sales Manager for our customers in the Western United States. In this role, he will be responsible for managing and maintaining this territory to represent all Holland divisions and all our Maintenance of Way products, including: Welding (Flash-Butt & Thermite), Track Testing Services, Track Maintenance and Construction Services, as well as Equipment Sales.
Maggie Vuono, Holland's National Sales Manager, spoke at the League of Railway Women (LRW) Panel at this year's Railway Interchange in Minneapolis, MN. Maggie was joined by four members of the LRW for the panel; Lisa Tuningley of T-RAIL Products Inc., Kate Suprenuk of Union Tank Car Company, Pam Arpin of Canadian Pacific, and Shannon Emberly of Canadian National. Panelists spoke on strategies for achieving a highly impactful career as a woman in the rail industry.
We're so excited to now offer Hang-On Geometry Systems for your track testing needs. Holland's Gage Inspector offers real-time gage measurement and is usable under any conventional hi-rail vehicle with any size trailer hitch. These are designed to be low cost, low power, and lightweight.
This product was recently unveiled at this year's Railway Interchange. You can find an interview on the Gage Inspector with RT&S Magazine and Russ Newberg (Holland's Director of Operations for Rail Measurement Systems and Services) here.
We're in full swing preparing for Railway Interchange in Minneapolis, MN! This show from Sunday, September 22nd through Tuesday, September 24th will be full of new innovations for all to see.
Holland's indoor booth (Booth # 2650) will feature:
We're so proud to announce our latest partnership with Custom Truck One Source! Holland's newest 650-series contract testing vehicle was built by Custom Truck One Source and will be featured at their outdoor booth at this year's Railway Interchange. You can view this build up close in outdoor booth # 203.
The 650 Series provides track geometry and rail profile measurement data along with track strength information from our patented lightweight load axle in a medium duty package. This versatile testing vehicle has the flexibility you need to get a comprehensive assessment of your track condition to keep your track up and running safely and efficiently
Join Maggie and three other distinguised woman as they discuss their roles of leadership in the rail industry, key leadership traits and strategies, as well as resources and opportunities that they have used along the way. This League of Railway Women panel will be taking place at this year's Railway Interchange on Monday, September 23rd at 10:00 AM.
Founded in 1997, the League of Railway Women (LRW) is committed to improving the railroad industry by connecting and cultivating women in rail. You can find more information about this organization at railwaywomen.org
Panel: When Women Lead – Reflection & Strategy for Achieving a Highly Impactful Career
Monday, September 23rd 10:00 AM
We're so proud to introduce our latest innovation to add onto our sparkless service offerings. Holland's LaserWelderTM creates a new standard for safer, longer lasting repairs.
Traditional repairs to frogs often only last weeks to six months before requiring additional maintenance. Holland's LaserWelderTM service includes pre-weld material removal using plasma cutting and robotically controlled hot wire laser cladding welding to build back the damaged area.
This process provides improved welding through lower heat input, on parent material, maintaining temperatures below 500 degrees. The resulting repair is higher quality, longer lasting and can be completed two to three times faster than a traditional repair weld. This helps reduce costs and maintenance time, keeping your track up and running.
We would like to congratulate our Holland Transportation Technology business unit for officially reaching 1000 days injury free! This is a tremendous safety milestone and we're so proud of this accomplishment. Thank you to the HoTT team for working with safety in mind always!
Holland’s HoTT business unit provides a variety of specialized rail car products to ensure your cargo arrives at its destination safely and undamaged. Our rail car products secure containers, safeguard automobiles, or protect lading against shifting en route. These products include bridge plates, cable and chain securements, container locks, and more.
On July 8th, 2019, Holland attended the 127th Annual Damage Prevention and Freight Claims Conference (AAR) in Omaha, Nebraska.
Holland’s very own Chris Roberts had the delight of speaking about the Multi-Purpose Chain Assembly Success Story at the show.Chris discussed how gathering input from various industries helped to create a chain made for flat car flexibility.
Joining Chris at the AAR convention was four other members of Holland’s HoTT (Holland Transportation Technologies) team. The HoTT team supplies specialized rail car products that ensure your cargo arrives at its destination safely and undamaged. With safety as their top priority, the HoTT teams takes pride in the fact that they are on their sixth year of no recordable injury.
Gauge Face Angle is becoming an increasingly important measurement in the railway industry, particularly on rail transit systems. The shutdown of a transit system in the Eastern US after a derailment in which high gauge face angle was recorded has brought the measurement to the attention of transit systems across the country
Gauge face angle (GFA) is an angle measured at the contact point of the wheel flange and the
gauge face of the rail, typically 5/8 inch below the top of rail. It is derived by fitting a straight line to
a restricted region of the gauge face of the rail. The region is bounded by two user-defined points,
one, typically about 2 mm above the gauge point and one about 2 mm below the gauge point. The
GFA is the angle in degrees that this line makes with a vertical line, defined by reference to
track level.
Committed to creating a culture of safety at Holland, we are proud to announce our latest project with the Village of Crete, IL to promote rail safety throughout our community. Painted sidewalk signs at high pedestrian traffic points now offer a permanent warning to community members who are crossing the railroad tracks by foot.
According to FRA Statistics, there were 1,050 pedestrian rail trespass casualties in 2018, and Illinois is ranked fifth with 44 last year alone. The goal of these sidewalk signs is to urge the community to cross the railroad tracks only where it is marked at a crossing and to “Stop, Look, and Listen” before crossing the tracks.
Holland is so excited to be a part of the first ever Crete Rail Safety Day!
Join us on July 12th from 1 - 3 PM to learn about trains and rail safety with special guests Operation Lifesaver and the Midwest Rail Rangers.
Holland is proud to announce its latest railway innovation: The Sparkless Carbide Saw. Railways all over the world will now be able to increase their efficiency safely with the ability to destress rail while cutting spark free.
Holland’s Director of New Product Development, Paul Lindemulder, described the multiple safety and risk management improvements to field operations saying, “Using carbide tipped steel blades, rotating at low RPMs, provides spark and dust free cutting of rail. Spark free cutting reduces the risk of fires started on the job that can result in significant loss. Dust and fumes are eliminated compared to abrasive saw cutting that can be a breathing hazard.” These features make the saw ideal for bridge and tunnel work, as well as work in high fire risk areas.
Holland is proud to announce that they have received the 2018 Contractor Safety Award courtesy of Railway Track and Structures and Commercial Insurance Association. Holland is so proud of this accomplishment that shows the entire company’s commitment to safety.
The award was given to Holland during the 2019 National Railroad Construction (NRC) Conference in Marco Island Florida. Mike O’Grady, Holland’s Chief Operating Officer, graciously accepted the award on behalf of Holland at the conference.
Holland is proud to announce that its Transportation Technology (HoTT) business unit celebrated its second consecutive year with zero recordable injuries on November 9, 2018. We are so proud of this accomplishment that embodies not only the unit’s but the entire company’s commitment to building a culture of safety.
Holland’s HoTT products are for the majority produced at the manufacturing facility in Kenova, West Virginia. “The entire Kenova team has done an excellent job of leading and incorporating safety into daily operations resulting in a positively growing safety record of 2 years with no recordable injuries” said David Wright, Holland’s Safety Director.
Randy Haberman, Vice President of Holland’s Equipment Division continued saying, “Our company culture thrives around safety, so it’s a great accomplishment to see our business units hitting these safety milestones. We’re very proud of the entire HoTT team for taking safety as seriously as they do.”
We are excited to welcome Rob Rosencrans who joins Holland LP as the General Manager of Holland Turnkey Engineering & Construction (HTEC). Rob will be responsible for the safety, strategy, product development and daily operation of the business unit. In this role, Rob will propel Holland to its next level of growth by working closely with customers, sales and all supporting divisions to continue to provide exceptional track maintenance and services including new track construction, repair welding, turnout and surfacing work, cut and slide work, and crossing installation, just to name a few.
Holland is proud to announce that its Railway Measurement Systems and Services (RMSS) business unit celebrated its fifth consecutive year with zero recordable injuries on February 18, 2018. This is a tremendous accomplishment that embodies not only the unit’s but the entire company’s commitment to building a culture of safety.
“Five years injury free is incredible given the challenging environment we operate in,” noted Jordan Wolf, President. He continued to recognize the commitment and continued effort demonstrated by RMSS’ achievement of this milestone saying, “they really lead the way and provide inspiration to the rest of the company and myself. If they can achieve such a tremendous goal, we all can.” Holland’s 2020 Safety goal is to achieve zero injuries across all business units.