Greens Port Mechanical Team Keeps Wind Energy Moving

The wind energy market is growing at a rapid pace and the Watco team at Greens Port is seeing a large number of turbines moving through the port. One essential piece to moving the massive units is ensuring the railcars are inspected and repaired prior to being loaded and delivered to one of the port’s Class I partners.

Watco’s Keith Johnson, Manager of Mechanical, directs the crew tasked with inspecting and repairing every single wind energy railcar arriving at the port. Wind turbine traffic has picked up at the port recently and the two-man crew of Alfredo Vazquez and Roger Howard have been dedicated solely to managing to the wind cars. Additional assistance from the mobile mechanical crew is pulled in when needed.

“Keith and team do a great job coordinating with the Greens Port rail ops team on the arrivals of the wind energy trains to ensure they are inspected and repaired in a timely manner,” said Damian Cantrell, Watco’s Vice President of Rail and Liquids. “The inspection and repairs are a key component of the success Watco has in pushing these trains through the facility in a safe and very efficient manner.”

The wind units are typically transported on flatcars that are equipped with special fixtures used to secure the equipment to the railcar. The Watco mechanical team has been seeing an average of about 135 cars each week.

“We can have a short window once the cars arrive to get them inspected and repaired,” said Johnson. “Depending on when the cars arrive, we can be working weekends and longer days to ensure the cars are completed and staged at the docks and ready to be loaded.”

Watco’s Vice President of Houston Sales, Maureen Solomon, said the services provided by the mechanical team at the port are an important piece in keeping the wind energy business at the port.“

Having an experienced team on site who are able to provide inspections and repairs is a big part of the service package we can offer our wind energy partners. When they come to Greens Port, they know they have a one-stop solution for taking care of their supply chain needs.”