Safety Anniversaries
August 1 – Ontario Switching (CA) – 2 years
August 1 – San Antonio Central Railroad (TX) – 12 years
August 1 – Savannah & Old Fort Railroad (GA) – 5 years
August 1 – Westlake Switching (LA) – 22 years
August 1 – Cherokee Switching (AL) – 8 years
August 6 – Texas Coastal Bend Railroad (TX) – 2 years
August 8 – Oklahoma City Transload Terminal (OK) – 5 years
August 10 – Mission Mountain Railroad (MT) – 8 years
August 10 – Port Neches Switching (TX) – 1 year
August 12 – Dore Transload Terminal (ND) – 1 year
August 13 – Fryburg Dedicated Terminal (ND) – 1 year
August 17 – DeRidder Ingevity Switching (LA) – 3 years
August 19 – Burley Transload Terminal (ID) – 2 years
August 19 – Wellington Transload Terminal (UT) – 1 year
August 20 – Baton Rouge Southern Railroad (LA) – 2 years
August 25 – Hawesville Marine Terminal (KY) – 1 year
August 26 – McIntosh Switching (AL) – 4 years
DID KN W YOU
Watco’s dental insurance carrier offers a rewards program. Team members enrolled in Watco’s Ameritas plan earn rewards after visiting an in-network dental provider at least once a year.
Rewards can be used by team members to help pay for major dental services after they’ve reached their $3,000 individual maximum annual benefit.
Log in to Ameritas’ website for plan information or to view your reward balance.
WSOR Grows with Longtime Customer
The Wisconsin & Southern Railroad (WSOR) recently helped a longtime customer restore rail service to a facility that hadn’t shipped a railcar in nearly two decades.
The cannery last received rail service in 2006, and the previous owner shuttered the plant in 2019. Seneca Foods purchased the facility in early 2020. COVID, new construction, and track rehabilitation pushed the startup date to 2024, and the WSOR spotted its first boxcars on June 13. This is now the fifth Seneca Foods location served by the WSOR.
“Seneca always invests a lot in their facilities,” said Sales Director Brad Peot. “They built a new warehouse adjacent to the cannery and rehabilitated the entire siding themselves. Eighteen years of neglect meant it took significant investment to bring the rail back online.”
The cannery is in Cambria, Wisconsin, and its siding can hold two to three boxcars. Despite the relatively short length, bringing the track back to life required plenty of work. A drainage pipe and fiber optic line had been added to the right of way in the 18 years it sat unused. The track had to be moved over, and Seneca and the WSOR had to work with the telecommunications company to move the line to ensure locomotives had enough clearance overhead. Additionally, a grade crossing leading into the plant needed repairs and additional protections before being placed back into service.
“The WSOR agreed to maintain the crossing going forward if Seneca agreed to cover the costs up front,” Peot said. “Our roadmaster inspected the improvements to make sure everything was safe, and our operations and fleet teams worked with the customer to set the service schedule and secure equipment.”
This location primarily ships canned green beans, corn, and peas on pallets in boxcars. They expect to average three to four cars per week. Equipment Coordinator Drew Martin helps manage the WSOR’s fleet of railcars for customers. He says it takes a lot to ensure customers have a steady stream of cars.
“First, we have to look at the customer’s loading docks to make sure we send them the right cars,” Martin said. “They tell us how many and how often they need cars. We look at what’s available in our fleet, calculate round-trip transit times, and allocate cars as needed from the pool.”
It takes several teams working together to bring a new facility online, even when it’s a customer with a long history with Watco. Sales, operations, fleet, engineering, and others all collaborate with the customer to provide the right service.
“Seneca Foods is a customer we’ve worked with for many years,” Peot said. “If they want to add to their shipping volume, we’re eager to make that happen. When our customers grow, we grow. I think that’s what differentiates Watco. The annual volume could be 1,000 cars or 100. We have local people who want to work with our customers to find the right solution that benefits everyone. These numbers add up and make us all more successful.”
Watco Expands Operations at Cheyenne Logistics Hub
Operators turned owners.
In March, Watco purchased rail assets within the Cheyenne Logistics Hub in Wyoming. The sale came after Watco’s Swan Ranch Railroad (SRRR) served as the park’s rail operator since 2012.
Now Watco announces another new development at this site: Our team recently acquired 18 acres of land to be used for customer expansion and additional rail operations.
Director of Industrial Development Luke Bellamy said, “Because Watco now owns the railroad and newly acquired acreage within Cheyenne Logistics Hub, our team can provide even more services to customers across all different industries. We plan to focus on build-to-suit options, transloading, and expanding the wind market. This will be an ideal location for all customers looking at the Rocky Mountain region.”
For prospective customers, there are many benefits to taking their business’ supply chain through the Cheyenne Logistics Hub including:
• The park’s direct access to BNSF and Union Pacific via the SRRR
• Close proximity to Colorado’s Front Range, including Denver, Fort Collins, and Greeley
• Located near the I-80 and I-25 corridor that goes through Wyoming
• Wyoming is a business-friendly state that offers no corporate or personal state income tax
To learn more, download our flyer.
Watco Team Gives Back to Local Community Before School Starts
It’s back-to-school time!
Team members at Memphis Switching recently participated in a backpack and school supplies drive to benefit their local YMCA.
The team members personally collected and donated 24 backpacks filled with crayons, notebooks, and more essentials. Watco matched their donation.
These 48 bags filled with supplies were given to third grade students in the surrounding Memphis area.
Giving back? Send your story to marketing@watco.com.
Access Your Benefits on the Watco Benefitplace App
Want to access your benefits information in one place? At Watco, there’s an app for that. It’s called the Watco Benefitplace app.
The newly updated app is now available to download on Apple’s App Store or Google Play. Benefitplace replaces Watco’s previous benefits portal, BenefitFocus.
Vice President of Talent Management Jeff Huser said, “Think of Benefitplace as your virtual front door to benefits.”
The app makes it easy to:
• Enroll in Watco benefits
• Access your Blue Cross Blue Shield account
• Update your benefits following a qualifying life event
• Update account beneficiaries and personal information
• Find insurance providers’ contact information
• View your benefit summary and plan booklet information
Starting this month, the Benefits team is introducing Watco Rewards. This new rewards program will automatically enter team members who complete certain actions on the app in a random drawing. Winners can select a $200 electronic gift card or donate this amount to a charity of their choice.
Actions on the app include reviewing your beneficiary, confirming your address, monthly trivia, and watching benefit-related videos. Five winners are chosen monthly through March 31, 2025.
Look for this icon on Apple’s App Store or Google Play. Scan the code to download app today.
Resources
• View plan booklets
• Watch videos on new benefits
• 401(k) information
Have trouble downloading or using the app? For assistance call (877) 336-8082 or email benefits@watco.com.
Benefitplace App Features
Benefit Enrollment
• View current benefits
• Make changes due to a qualified life event
• View your beneficiary
BCBS Single Sign-On
• Digital ID card
• My Health Novel
• Blue 365 discounts
• Claims data
When to Use Your Watco Benefits Card
When it comes to settling healthcare expenses, using the Watco benefits debit card is always better than paying out-of-pocket. But who gets a Watco benefits debit card? And when should you use it?
Debit card holders are team members enrolled in one of these health accounts at Watco: Health Reimbursement Account (HRA), Health Savings Account (HSA), Flexible Spending Account (FSA), Limited Purpose FSA (LPFSA), or the Spouse Incentive Health Reimbursement Account (SIHRA).
Qualified healthcare expenses vary based on which type of account you have. Check out the chart below for more information.
To check your account balance, file a claim, or submit documentation, log into your NueSynergy account. This account is accessible online at go.watco.com. Or download the NueSynergy app from the App Store or Google Play.
Customer Impressed with Team Members’ Expertise, Dedication to Safety
When the customer’s new safety manager unexpectedly dropped by the Tioga Dedicated Terminal, Watco team members Sergio Mohammed and Justin Haisch stopped what they were doing to show him operations.
The safety manager arrived after Watco Terminal Manager Daniel Harkness and Supervisor Eric Turner had left for the day. Meanwhile, Mohammed and Haisch were loading natural gas liquids (NGLs) into railcars.
Turner said, “They stopped what they were doing to give him a tour of the facility. And when they returned to the NGL rack, Sergio and Justin provided a step-by-step overview of the loading process.”
Mohammed and Haisch took time to answer all his questions, including one on whip checks, after he noticed all railcars featured secondary hose securements. They explained this mitigation measure was created after an incident in 2019, when a hose became untethered from a railcar.
“Sergio and Justin took the time to go over the reasoning behind every process,” said Turner. “They are both great examples of Watco’s customer-first Foundation Principle.”
The safety manager only had positive words to describe his recent site visit. In an email to Harkness and Turner, he said it was “awesome to hear the operators talk through mitigations that are in place due to previous incidents. That is a great cultural indicator of lessons learned by the team.”
Team Member Anniversaries
Congratulations to the following team members celebrating September anniversaries:
1 Year:
Kevin Alicea, Miguel Armenta, Gregory Arndt, Matthew Ballentine, James Barrett, Demeko Berry, David Blasquez, Mark Bourbina, John Boykin, Clarence Brown, Terence Campbell, Hudson Clark, Scott Culver, Mark Curtis, Chase Downing, Tiffany Doyle, Nathan Dunn, Preston Eberle, Cynthia Foley Mundy, Sarah Fraser, Caleb Guillaume, Herbert Hamilton, Jeremey Harris, Zachary Harville, Rodney Henry, Brian Holman, Alton Johnson, William Jones, Jory Langevin, Colby Lindloff, Brandon Lough, Wilbert Louis, Anthony Luna, Ahmed Mabifa, Jarrett Manharth, Connor Matthews, Andrew Maxwell, Corey McBride, Thomas McCarty, Adam Minch, Alvie Mixon, Dana Morgan, Austin Niehoff, Gary O’Donnell, Dalton Parent, Jarrad Pickford, Jacob Poage, Jesse Quintero, Paul Rantucci, Garry Ritch, Mark Schroeder, Anthony Schuler, Jeremiah Scott, Drew Simmons, Julie Smith, Brandy Sowder, Joel Stevens, Justin Thorn, Joaquin Villagomez, Ryan Wanamaker, Steven Weed, Della Williams, Daniel Winfree, David Yocum
2 Years:
Ross Acheson, Isaiah Allred, Tobia Almonte Velez, Toby Barker, Gary Beauprey, Kervin Berry, Elliott Bramschreiber, Camden Bush, Mark Carman, Madison Caruthers, Juniors Clipps, Eric Collins, Brian Davis, Charles Dillon, Dylan Elford, Adam Fitzpatrick, Brandon Flagg, Ramon Fonseca, Taylor Fricke, Jonathan Garcia, Miguel Garcia, Mary George, Michael Goodwin,
Jacob Green, Trey Green, Evan Hall, Matthew Hood, Teona Kingma, Coronado Lindsey, Mia Liu, Joseph Locke, Nicolas Marshall, Jacob McCafferty, Brian Mimano, Jared Mohler, Ketrick Morgan, Johansel Moronta, Fabiola Nevarez, Francisco Olvera, Jaime Perez, Omar Perez, Jorhanden Pinero, Ryan Reyes, Logan Richter, Jeremy Schoville, Marco Sifuentes, Kevin Sligh, Logan Smith, Daniel Stitzel, Antonio Vidal, Jonathan Wallette, David Waltz, Jeffrey Welch, Leslie Wilson, Derek Witsman
3 Years:
Nelton Allen, Calvin Aspinwall, Karla Avila, Patrick Billat, Jose Bocanegra, Dennis Breslin, Gregory Cina, Marcus Clark, Adilene Cortes, Zachary Davis, Michael De Leony Pena, Gunner Durrett, Andres Estrada, Matthew Fietek, Justin Fortney, Scott Fricke, Stephen Garcia, Brett Glynn, Quinton Gordon, Hailey Gray, Anthony Green, Karson Hanni, Joel Hardon, Kris Hawley, Derrick Johns, Nathan Jorgensen, Ryan Larson, Cody Liles, Colton Little, Juan Lopez, Alcides Magana, Brandy Malone, Gabriel Martinez, Dalton Mcfatter, James McGuire, Rodolfo Mendoza, Chase Mitchell, Joseph Munoz, Justin Murray, Gabriel Quirino, Eric Rangel, Mason Snider, Joshua Stinnett, Kameron Sutherland, William Tomasi, Jesus Tovar, Jesus Trevino, Mitchell Wastak, Tyler Whiteside
4 Years:
Christopher Austin, George Bingham, Brayden Boyd, Tosha
Carlton, Hector Cibrian, Alicea Dawes, Glen Dixon, Andrew Dowler, Eduardo Garcia, Juan Hernandez Pliego, J Cruz Hurtado, Heath Irvin, Damien Johnson, Kerrie Larkin, Daniel Lopez Vela, Larry Matthews, Billy Mitchell, David Palmerin, Esiquio Resendiz, Juan Rodriguez, Nigel Steedman, Ryan Tidaback, Jonathan Vasquez, Kevin Voll, Katelyn Wolfe, Amber Younger, Dario Zuniga
5 Years:
Jorge Ballesteros, Oscar Bolivar, Samuel Brandt, Randolph Burington, Joshuah Chrismas, Joseph Clement, Scott Irvin, Carlton Lawrence, Robbie Ledet, Wesley Lollar, Michael Mazzone, Robert McLaughlin, Craig Nettles, Justin Ogle, Darren Paish, Susan Rao, David Richards, Dontrele Smith, Ray Wright
6 Years:
Bruno Arias, Kody Blair, Travis Blair, Kenneth Burns, Phillip Burrous, Craig Daley, Christopher Dalton, Derrick DeWitt, Malik Edwards, Richard Flowers, Jose Gonzalez, Sarah Hall, Jarell Harris, Brandon Heckler, Corey Hornig, James Karanga, Jennifer Kienic, Ryan Laverdure, Kenneth Lockard, Kean Martin, Michael May, Martin Mayes, John McCrossen, Nicholas Mora, John Moschella, April Potter, Orlando Reveron, Rafael Rosas, Mary Saenz, Richard Serrano, Benjamin Smith, Henry Smith, Brian Sparks, Darrell Tolbert, Eric Vail, Quincy Wells, Turkson West, Brandy White, Adam Williams, Bryan Woolard
7 Years:
Team Member Anniversaries
Matthew Allen, Andrew Auriemma, Ramon Betancourt, Hayley Clark, Marquita Connor, Cameron Ginther, Chastity Gonzales, Mitchell Guenther, Milton Hernandez, Jimmy Jolivet, Austin Pursley, Daryle Rogers, Derek Sanchez, Chase Williams, Justin Wittenauer
8 Years:
Matthew Garrett, Travis Grose, Kourtney Hatch, Casey Mills, Ryan Ross, Nick Schwartz, Aaron Snow
9 Years:
Zachary Kachmar, Drury Kane, Chad Klopfenstine, Jeremy Lemarr, J Homero Medina, Daniel Mendoza, John Moriconi, Justin Morrison, Danny Queen, Robert Ross, Travis Schnelle, Michael Schoenherr, Juan Vasquez, Kelly Zulfer
10 Years:
Andrew Cordischi, Ta’Darius Dawson, Travis Gage, William Haynes, Jeffrey Kebert, Elliot King, Luke Lohrmeyer, Darryl Lovett, Brandon Parham, Timothy Rupik, Hugo Sanchez, Nicholas Sanders, Ashton Speckman, Adam Underwood, Robert Way, Michael Williams
11 Years:
Jacob Cahill, David Callan, Jesus Carmona, Jennifer Crossno, Jace Fisher, Arden Martinie, Christopher Porter, Michael Urness, Shaun Yeates
12 Years:
Christopher Burns, Laramie Gahman, Juan Gonzalez, Christopher Hughes, Don Latimer, James Mobley, Jason Persson, Daniel Rodriguez, Floyd Schrock, Clint Woods
13 Years:
Justin DeWitt, Ernie Farrand, Justin Hoggle, Linda Jordan, Adam Weddle
14 Years:
Damien Cantrell, Cedric Graham, David Mathews, David Miller, Andrew Moots, JaCorey Murray, Bradley Shows, Benjamin Tarran, Peter Tietjen
15 Years:
Michael Reeves, Chadd Thimesch, Cody Winkleman
16 Years:
Daniel Archer, Kevin Kennison, Dennis McCord, Lori Vaden
17 Years:
Dale Cross, Sergio Delgado
18 Years:
James Hagans, Nancy Huser, Bill Miller, Wesley Murray
19 Years:
Aubrey Berguin, Jonas Colley, Matthew Davis, Annetra Garcia, Matthew Hare, Mark Harrington, Kari Stephens, Reynaldo Vargas, Thomas Williams, Steve Yates, Carol Young
20 Years:
Brandon Craddock, Michael Hannon, Joseph Nazimek, Julio Parada
22 Years: Arnulfo Rangel, Michael Wilson
23 Years: Charles King, William Patterson
25 Years: Kara Bowman
26 Years: Eric Davison
27 Years: Richard Gruber
29 Years: Michael Moore
30 Years: James Smith
33 Years: David Tarwater
46 Years: Rickey Moore
