RCR Rail Co.

What makes your company different from others in the industry?

• RCR Rail Co develops and operates rail-served logistics parks to fulfill a critical, geographical market need for rail users and the communities and supply chains they support. We offer a privately managed, service-driven rail experience across our service spectrum ranging from switching, transloading, commodity storage, and the majority of all other rail-oriented, value-added services within the industry. We believe our competitive advantages begin with our close proximity to two of the fastest growing markets in Texas, Houston, and Austin, which were void of Class I rail service, and incorporate our highly efficient park development design. RCR operational facilities are privately switched and efficiently designed to give customers a white-glove service for our partners and have afforded us the opportunity to provide a wide variety of supply chain solutions including unit train, manifest, transloading, and commodity storage, among other value-added services.

What do you see in the market? When do you see markets coming back?

• In general, markets are currently very challenging. However, economic activity is increasing in specific niches, which include semiconductors, department of transportation construction, and housing. These niche markets are growing near the RCR parks allowing for business development of current and new rail customers within our core competencies. Our strategy during this time of market softness is to begin identifying players in these emerging markets and provide them with a solution that enhances their speed to market. While there is some softness in the general market, it does not affect our ability to provide excellent service to every partner, which will serve us well when markets begin to turn.

Are there any new projects or developments your company is working on now? 

• RCR is intently focused on driving volume through both of our parks. Hempstead and Taylor both have the capacity to handle more shipments for customers in each of these markets.
• On the development front, RCR Hempstead Rail Park is seeing heightened activity from people looking to invest in new physical locations in Northwest Houston, outside of the heavily congested port complex. A lot of the work we are doing on the commercial front at Hempstead revolves around partnerships with the local, and increasingly busy, economic development corporations that surround us and taking our more efficient operating structure to market to bring new customers to the park. We currently have contracts with many green industries like plastic recycling, aviation fuel, and biodiesel.
• Our RCR Taylor Rail Park continues to transform every day. One partner, Partners Development, is in the late innings of constructing their 350,000 square-foot, dock-high warehouse inside of the park. On the other side of the park, our automotive facility has nearly tripled its production capacity. Additionally, we have recently installed equipment to manage traffic flow and enhance rail safety throughout the park. We continue to work through the rest of the park development process in partnership with our local municipalities and customers inside of the rail park. The next steps include completing the permitting process, building out the public infrastructure, expanding transloading and storage capabilities, and positioning the activity within the park to support the growth of the surrounding local communities. RCR Taylor Rail Park’s recent city/county permitting progress is allowing many of the major companies located within the park to begin their development before the end of the year.

What is your company currently doing in transloading?

• RCR handles a wide variety of products including automotive, construction materials, aggregates, oil and gas products, petroleum, agricultural products, plastic pellets, base oils, used cooking oils, and structural.  Park rail services include transloading, commodity storage, private switching, manifest rail, and unit train capability. We provide an extensive lay-down area for storage and are equipped and possess the experience to handle all commodity types, including hazmat, at both of our parks. Our parks' overall designs allow for a large capacity to handle new products, which is demonstrated by the uptick in transloaded commodities. Additionally, RCR is constantly evaluating installing a variety of storage capacities in addition to partnering with value-added service providers for rail-oriented stakeholders What helps RCR differentiate us from other transloaders is our real estate component, particularly in Hempstead, where we have several acres that can be leased or even purchased by partners for a variety of use situations. RCR combines rail access, transloading, and real estate components to be a total solution provider across the spectrum of supply chain stakeholders.

Would you like to share something with our members that people may not know about your company?

• RCR Rail Co., a project of McAlister Assets, is women-owned. The most current company is carrying on the 50-year legacy of the McAlister family.  Our co-founders have strong backgrounds in private equity investments, real estate, and working for Fortune 500 companies. We are looking to the future of investment real estate and have established our rail-served properties in strategic locations near growing industrial and metropolitan areas.