Baler maker wins family business award - Equipment Report - Philadelphia Tramrail Co - Brief Article

Recycling Today, July, 2002

Philadelphia Tramrail Co., Philadelphia, has been named Pennsylvania 2002 Family Business of the Year in the medium-sized business category.

More than 1,100 companies vied for Family Business of the Year awards, which are judged by University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of business faculty members. The judges look for "dynamic family firms that combine innovative business concepts, vision, growth and professionalism with strong family leadership."

Philadelphia Tramrail Co., based in Philadelphia, is a fourth-generation family business that makes and services vertical balers and compactors.

The company was founded in 1907 as a maker of monorail systems used in manufacturing plants. By the 1920s, employee Robert Riethmiller had assumed oversight responsibilities in the shop, and in 1929 he purchased the company from its founder. By 1932, Riethmiller's son Robert J. was working for the company, which by then was also making overhead crane systems.

The company has further diversified and expanded in the ensuing decades, with Robert Riethmiller Jr. and Eric Riethmiller having joined the company.