Arguably one of the most diverse operations in G&W’s North American footprint, Tomahawk Railway (TR), nestled in Wisconsin’s Northwoods, is a three-pronged business that combines rail, warehousing and a shuttle service that supports the area’s pulp and paper sector.
The warehouse, which was constructed in 2005 and has since undergone four expansions, is a 365-day-per-year operation that can fit eight railcars and receive up to 20 truckloads of product each day.
“We are more than just an eight-mile railroad,” says TR’s Operations Manager Katie Kaiser. “We have become a complete logistics company.”
While any customer can take advantage of TR’s diverse logistics solutions, Packaging Corporation of America (PCA), which operates an area pulpboard mill, has benefitted most from TR’s versatility. PCA receives raw material from Canada via Canadian National (CN), which is unloaded at the warehouse and later reloaded onto truck for delivery to the mill, a five-minute drive from the warehouse. TR’s two 1500 horsepower four-axle diesel locomotives move 12 to 18 empty boxcars daily to the mill. The boxcars are then filled with tons of finished paper rolls and transported to connections with CN. PCA also stores its product in TR’s 105,000-square-foot warehouse when their own on-site warehouse is full.
In addition to PCA materials, TR’s warehouse stores a variety of products for other customers, including pulp producer Alberta-Pacific and global forest products company Mercer International. These products are typically received via boxcar, but some are trucked in from Ahlstrom-Munksjö, which produces material used in aerospace reflective gear as well as paper products used to wrap Campbell’s soup cans. The warehouse’s newest customer, Printpack, prints packaging material for candy and snack products made by Mars and Quaker Oats.
“TR is one of our shorter short lines, but it is very unique,” says Sarah Pawlanta, assistant vice president for sales and marketing for G&W’s Upper Midwest Division railroads. “We have a remarkable warehouse facility with room to expand by 40,000 feet. If area customers have products to store, we can take them.”
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