RPI + RSA: one strong, unified voice - Supplyside - Railway Supply Association - Railway Progress Institute - Company Profile

Railway Age, Nov, 2002 by George L. Kline

My friend and colleague Ed Kindig, vice president-sales, The Greenbrier Companies and president of the Railway Supply Association, had the privilege of announcing the intended consolidation of RSA and the Railway Progress Institute at the RSA annual luncheon in late September.

If all goes well, meaning that if the memberships of RPI and RSA approve, our two railway supply trade associations will consolidate and become the Railway Supply Institute (RSI) on Jan. 1, 2003. This consolidation has long been the dream of many of us, and thanks to the hard work done by the boards of both organizations, the dream is about to become true.

The objectives of the new RSI are straightforward. It will promote the railway supply community and the railroad industry and provide support to our industry's customers while continuing the activities and traditions of both predecessor organizations. RSI will continue to offer technical exhibitions and support for railroad fraternities and organizations as is currently done by RSA. It will provide one strong, unified voice for the railway supply industry in Washington, D.C., and the states on regulatory and legislative issues that affect our industry, and it will continue to provide strong support for the legislative and regulatory agendas of the Class I and short line railroads as is currently done by RPI.

RSI will have two offices, one in Chicago and one in Washington, and will be governed by a new board of directors evenly split between large and small companies, half named by RPI and half named by RSA. It will continue to host Association of American Railroads meetings, and the Air Brake Association, Mechanical Association Railcar Technical Services, Locomotive Maintenance Officers Association, and the International Association of Railway Operating Officers meetings every September in Chicago. As an important part of those meetings, it will also continue to put on an exhibit where suppliers can show their latest technologies and products to their customers.

The combined RPI/RSA membership will be about 500 railway supply companies. While many may think it will be skewed towards the mechanical side, it is important to recognize that RSI will continue to represent all railway supply disciplines, including mechanical, communications and signaling, maintenance-of-way, passenger rail, and those niche companies that can't easily be classified. This broad-based representation will bring added strength to the RSI effort in Washington. With the new organization gathering statistical information about the railway supply industry's size and employment base, Congress can only sit up and take notice of the size and strength of the railway supply industry. With Congress expected to address many issues affecting our industry next year including TEA-21 reauthorization, transit funding, grade crossing issues, big trucks, Amtrak, and rail safety, the timing of the consolidation couldn't be better. Spending decisions made in the next Congress will affect our industry for the next decade. The railway supply industry, through RSI, will be heard on these issues.

The RPI program committees will continue the work that they do in support of the industry and the railway supply industry's Washington activities. Consequently, the new organization will continue to serve the tank car industry, the freight car builders through ARCI, the coupler manufacturers, the equipment leasing industry, the grade crossing safety community, passenger rail interests, maintenance-of-way, and international trade efforts, as RPI and its staff has done in the past. I fully expect these committees will be strengthened and reinvigorated by the expanded membership base. We will also continue the RPI tradition of a dinner in Washington with some changes that we think will improve the evening. Look for an announcement of a time and date for the 2003 dinner soon.

When I took over as chairman of RPI in 2001, there was much uncertainty about the future of the organization. It was clear that a consolidation with RSA was the top priority of the RPI Executive Committee. I was determined to see the consolidation through, or absent agreement with RSA, put the issue behind us once and for all and move ahead. I am pleased that a merger has happened and look forward to a stronger railway supply industry because of it. As Ed Kindig concluded in his September announcement, "In a time of change, mergers and acquisitions are occurring throughout the business world. This has also affected the railroad industry. Consolidation of our two associations simply makes sense and will form a more effective voice in regulatory matters as well as provide a stronger base to serve our individual membership."