Refugio Transload Terminal is Open for Business

Formerly a sand receipt facility for the energy industry, Watco’s newest Texas terminal, the Refugio Transload Terminal, is now open for business. The Watco team at the facility previously performed operations, but ownership of the facility now opens the doors to new opportunities to bring in a variety of customers and commodities.

Hilda Morin has been at the facility, located two hours southwest of Houston, since 2011. She was hired on as an operator and worked her way up to supervisor, assistant terminal manager, and then to her current position as terminal manager.

“We’re excited to bring on new business,” Morin said. “We have 200 plus acres here with 100 acres of that undeveloped. There is so much potential here for growth.”

Connectivity to the facility is a big plus to the full-service rail-served terminal. Two Class I railroads serve the site, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific, and there are currently 650 existing railcar spaces. A planned expansion will accommodate additional railcar storage space or allow for a SIT (Storage in Transit) yard. There are eight 2,000-ton concrete silos on site with state-of-the-art conveyer systems for handling bulk commodities with the opportunity to transload from rail to silo to truck in any combination.

The facility’s automatic truck transloading system can rapidly fill from multiple lanes to maximize the terminal’s truck throughput. This capability, with the proximity to the growing Corpus Christi, Rockport, and Sinton areas, will support the bulk products, chemicals, oil and gas, wind energy, agriculture, and steel industries.

“I see this as a great learning opportunity for everyone here,” said Morin. “We can build on the experience that we already have and discover even more ways to provide cost-effective options to meet our customers’ needs. That’s one thing Watco has always been good about, finding better ways to provide service.”