Trinity Industries
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Trinity Industries Inc. is an American industrial corporation that owns a variety of businesses which provide products and services to the industrial, energy, transportation and construction sectors. Now, the company has five business groups, which are Rail Group, Construction Products Group, Inland Barge Group, Energy Equipment Group and Railcar Leasing & Management Services Group.


History


Founding

The company, first known as Trinity Steel, was founded by C. J. Bender in Dallas in 1933. W. Ray Wallace, an engineering graduate of Louisiana Tech, worked for Dallas's Austin Bridge Company in 1944 before joining the company in 1946 as its seventeenth employee. At the time Trinity Steel manufactured butane tanks in a Dallas County mule barn. In 1958 Trinity Steel merged with Dallas Tank Company, which was also founded in 1933, and Ray Wallace became the new firm's president and first chief executive officer. At the time Trinity had revenues reaching $2.5 million and employed 200 workers. While some employees of the firm in other states eventually unionized, Texas workers never formed a union. For a time the company profited by producing larger tanks that enabled it to enter the petroleum business and do steel fabrication for refineries. In addition, to free up capital, it established an investment company to buy trucks and lease them back to the firm. Nonetheless, by 1957 Trinity faced competition and declines in the petroleum industry. Dallas Tank, Trinity Steel, and Bender-Wallace Development Company merged in 1958 to form Trinity Industries, Incorporated, and went public.


1970s

In 1970 Trinity diversified with the acquisition of of land adjacent to the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and in 1971 established its first real estate subsidiary. Acquisition of Mosher Steel in 1973, after initially contracting work out to them, enhanced the company's structural business. Among projects completed by the firm's structural division were the Texas Stadium, New York's World Trade Center, the Balboa Bridge in Panama, the Pennzoil Building, and two buildings in Moscow. Although Trinity began fabricating railway tank car bodies as a subcontractor to Richmond Tank Car and Union Tank Car as early as 1966, in 1978 Trinity began producing complete tank and covered hopper rail cars in association with Quick Car of Fort Worth, Texas, which Trinity later absorbed.


1980s

By the 1980s two subsidiaries, Gamble's Incorporated of Alabama and Mosher Steel of Texas, manufactured structural products including materials for drilling platforms, highway bridge components, commercial-high-rise buildings, and other girders and beams. The firm's marine subsidiary, Equitable Shipyards, produced LASH or
Lighter Aboard Ship The lighter aboard ship (LASH) system refers to the practice of loading barges (lighters) aboard a bigger vessel for transport. It was developed in response to a need to transport lighters, a type of (usually but not always) unpowered barge, be ...
barges, riverboats for use by Hilton Hotels, and other craft for industrial uses. Hackney, Incorporated, its metal components subsidiary, produced materials for piping systems. Trinity produced completed railcars, including tank cars, covered and open hoppers, and gondolas to transport chemicals, coal, structural steel and other commodities, at locations in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Longview, Texas, and held two railcar leasing subsidiaries. The company also produced containers for fertilizer, liquified petroleum gas, and nuclear fuel and waste. In 1981 Trinity acquired a metal fabrication firm at Channelview, Texas, and Babcock & Wilcox plants in Elkhart, Indiana, and Koppel, Pennsylvania, and in 1983 it acquired Halter Marine. In 1984 Trinity absorbed Quick Car and acquired the railcar designs and production facilities of the Pullman-Standard Car Manufacturing Company, once the largest railcar manufacturer in North America. That same year Trinity also acquired the railcar designs of
General American Transportation Corporation GATX Corporation is a railcar lessor that owns fleets in North America, Europe, and Asia. In addition, jointly with Rolls-Royce Limited, it owns one of the largest aircraft spare engine lease portfolios. It is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. ...
. In 1986 the rail car designs and production facilities of
Greenville Steel Car Company Greenville is the name of several places: Canada *Laxgalts'ap, British Columbia, formerly named Greenville *Greenville, Nova Scotia, in Yarmouth County *Greenville Station, Nova Scotia, in Cumberland County *Lower Greenville, Nova Scotia, in Cumb ...
were purchased, including the auto rack designs of Portec-Paragon. Also acquired in 1986 were the railcar designs of North American Car Corporation, and in 1987 Ortner Freight Car was acquired. These combined acquisitions made Trinity the largest rail car manufacturer in North America.


1990s

"In the 1990s expansion continued with the acquisition of the Transit Mix Concrete and Materials Company of Beaumont, Texas, Beiard Industries, Syro Steel and Stearns Airport Equipment of Fort Worth, Texas. By 1993 revenues exceeded $1.5 billion, and the firm employed 13,000 people." In 1998 Trinity acquired the Differential Steel Car Company (DIFCO), which designed and built specialty rail cars. That same year Trinity also opened a rail car production plant in Monclova, Mexico.


2001

In 2001 Trinity Industries acquired the designs and production facilities of
Thrall Car Manufacturing Company Thrall Car Manufacturing Company was a manufacturer of railroad freight cars in Chicago Heights, Illinois from 1917 to 2001. The company was sold to Trinity Industries in 2001. Company history A.J. Thrall established the Union Wagon Company in 191 ...
, then North America's second largest producer of railroad
freight car A railroad car, railcar (American and Canadian English), railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck (British English and UIC), also called a train car, train wagon, train carriage or train truck, is ...
s.


2002-2003

Trinity consolidated its rail car building operations under the name Trinity Rail Group (TRG), and then shortened the name to TrinityRail.


June 2006

The company completed the sale of its weld pipe fittings business.


August 2006

The company sold its European Rail business to International Railway Systems S.A.


December 2006

During the year ended December 31, 2006, it made two acquisitions in the Construction Products Group.


April 2007

The company's subsidiary, Transit Mix Concrete & Materials Company, acquired a combined group of East Texas asphalt, ready mix concrete and aggregates businesses operating under the name Armor Materials.


November 2018

The company’s Energy Equipment Group - Trinity Containers - was spun off forming Arcosa Inc. (NYSE - ACA).


Products


Rail Group - TrinityRail

TrinityRail manufactures and sells
railroad car A railroad car, railcar (American and Canadian English), railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck (British English and UIC), also called a train car, train wagon, train carriage or train truck, is a ...
s (
hopper car A hopper car (US) or hopper wagon ( UIC) is a type of railroad freight car used to transport loose bulk commodities such as coal, ore, grain, and track ballast. Two main types of hopper car exist: covered hopper cars, which are equipped with a ...
s,
gondolas The gondola (, ; vec, góndoła ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull ...
,
flat car A flatcar (US) (also flat car, or flatbed) is a piece of rolling stock that consists of an open, flat deck mounted on a pair of trucks (US) or bogies (UK), one at each end containing four or six wheels. Occasionally, flat cars designed to carry ...
s,
autorack An autorack, also known as an auto carrier (also car transporter outside the US), is a specialized piece of railroad rolling stock used to transport automobiles and light trucks. Autoracks are used to transport new vehicles from factories to ...
s, intermodal cars,
tank car A tank car ( International Union of Railways (UIC): tank wagon) is a type of railroad car (UIC: railway car) or rolling stock designed to transport liquid and gaseous commodities. History Timeline The following major events occurred in t ...
s, and
boxcar A boxcar is the North American ( AAR) term for a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry freight. The boxcar, while not the simplest freight car design, is considered one of the most versatile since it can carry most ...
s) and component parts. Its customers include
railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
s, leasing companies and shippers of products.


Construction Products Group

The group produces
concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...
, aggregates, highway products, beams and
girder A girder () is a support beam used in construction. It is the main horizontal support of a structure which supports smaller beams. Girders often have an I-beam cross section composed of two load-bearing ''flanges'' separated by a stabilizing ' ...
s used in
highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...
bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
construction. Its customers include contractors and subcontractors in the construction and
foundation Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...
industry.


Guardrail controversy

In March 2012, Joshua Harman, co-owner of
guardrail Guard rail, guardrails, or protective guarding, in general, are a boundary feature and may be a means to prevent or deter access to dangerous or off-limits areas while allowing light and visibility in a greater way than a fence. Common shapes ...
manufacturing and installation companies SPIG Industry and Selco Construction Services, filed a federal False Claims Act (FCA) suit against Trinity Highway Products, LLC. Trinity manufactures under license the ET Plus System—a guardrail end terminal system designed by the
Texas A&M Transportation Institute The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) in Bryan/College Station, Texas is a transportation research agency in the United States. The institute was created in 1950, primarily in response to the needs of the Texas Highway Department (now th ...
(TTI). Mr. Harman alleged that Trinity did not properly notify the
Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...
(FHWA) in 2005 when Trinity changed the ET Plus guide channel from five inches to four. Trinity made the modification upon the recommendation of TTI which had successfully crash-tested the product, it was revealed in a series of investigative articles published by television station
WPRI-TV WPRI-TV (channel 12) is a television station in Providence, Rhode Island, United States, affiliated with CBS and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which provides certain services to dual Fox/ CW affiliate WNAC-TV (channel 64) und ...
in May 2014. Prior to May 18, 2015, FHWA did not expect product submitters to notify FHWA of “non-significant” modifications if the modification was thought to have no effect on how the device would slow, stop or redirect a vehicle. Harman further alleged that these were cost-cutting changes that resulted in unsafe products being deployed on U.S. highways. Automobile accidents involving the ET Plus System have involved guardrails penetrating vehicles and causing injury to occupants although subsequent testing resulted in findings that no unique performance limitations could be attributed to the ET-Plus as manufactured, that there are real-world conditions that exceed the performance expectation of all end terminal systems, and that installation, maintenance and repair were factors affecting the product’s performance. Lawsuits regarding the guardrails causing injury to motorists were pending in U.S. courts in 2014. In October, 2014, the federal lawsuit resulted in a fraud jury verdict of $175 million which under FCA was tripled to $525 million. In June 2015, the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Texas certified the verdict and assessed the final penalty at $663 million. By 2016, Trinity had appealed the case to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which reversed the trial court and entered judgment in favor of Trinity in 2017. In January 2014,
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
suspended the use of the Trinity guardrails due to its then belief that Trinity was required to disclosure the ITT recommended guide channel change. By October 2014, 14 states had suspended new installations of the Trinity guardrail end terminal. A report by the
University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a Public university#United States, public List of research universities in the United States, research university in Birmingham, Alabama. Developed from an academic extension center established i ...
which examined data from almost a decade of crash reports concluded the ET Plus guardrail end terminal to be nearly three times more likely to result in fatality than the previous version of the end terminal. In January 2015, the FHWA commissioned a peer review of the
University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a Public university#United States, public List of research universities in the United States, research university in Birmingham, Alabama. Developed from an academic extension center established i ...
report. All four reviewers raised concerns about limitations or flaws in the study’s methodology, which led all of the reviewers to question the validity of the study’s findings and conclusions. In October 2014, the FHWA issued a memorandum requesting information from state transportation departments regarding the ET Plus performance. In addition, the FHWA requested the guardrail be retested. Trinity voluntarily stopped shipping the ET Plus until the additional crash testing requested by the FHWA could be completed. Up to that point, 42 states had stopped installation of new ET Plus guardrails pending further testing. Trinity conducted a series of eight crash tests at 27-inch and 31-inch heights to conform to the prevailing standard for guardrails of this type per the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 350. After a review by the FHWA and an independent expert, in March 2015 the FHWA announced that the ET Plus as sold by Trinity passed all eight crash tests, and that the product remained eligible for federal reimbursement. In March 2015, the
Virginia Department of Transportation The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is the agency of the state government responsible for transportation in the state of Virginia in the United States. VDOT is headquartered at the Virginia Department of Highways Building in downtown ...
announced plans to replace ET Plus guardrails. In March 2015, federal officials said the TTI modified design manufactured by Trinity met safety standards during crash tests. In September 2015, The FHWA and the
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test quality control, protocols, and guidelines that are used in highway design and construction through ...
published a joint task force report titled, “Safety Analysis of Extruding W-Beam Guardrail End Terminal Crashes.” The report concluded that there are no unique performance limitations that can be attributed to the ET-Plus as manufactured, that there are real-world conditions that exceed the performance expectation of all end terminal systems, and that additional crash testing of all existing NCHRP Report 350-compliant end terminals would be irrelevant and uninformative. The report also cited installation, maintenance and repair as factors affecting product performance. On October 23, 2015, Trinity Highway Products announced that it would resume shipping the ET-Plus "after meeting safety standards in crash tests" to fill orders as they come in. On September 29, 2017 the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed the District Court and entered judgment in favor of Trinity in United States ex rel. Harman v. Trinity Indus. Inc., 872 F.3d 645 (5th Cir., 2017)


Inland Barge Group

The group manufactures dry-cargo barges and
hopper barge A hopper barge is a kind of non-mechanical ship or vessel that cannot move around by itself, unlike some other types of barges, that is designed to carry materials, like rocks, sand, soil and rubbish, for dumping into the ocean, a river or lak ...
s.


Energy Equipment Group - Trinity Containers spin-off

In 2018, the group was spun off forming Arcosa, Inc., d/b/a ARCOSA Tank, that manufactures containers including
pressure vessels A pressure vessel is a container designed to hold gases or liquids at a pressure substantially different from the ambient pressure. Construction methods and materials may be chosen to suit the pressure application, and will depend on the size o ...
,
storage tanks Storage tanks are containers that hold liquids, compressed gases (gas tank; or in U.S.A "pressure vessel", which is not typically labeled or regulated as a storage tank) or mediums used for the short- or long-term storage of heat or cold. The t ...
, as well as
gas cylinders A gas cylinder is a pressure vessel for storage and containment of gases at above atmospheric pressure. High-pressure gas cylinders are also called ''bottles''. Inside the cylinder the stored contents may be in a state of compressed gas, vapor ...
for
propane Propane () is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula . It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used a ...
and
anhydrous ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous wast ...
storage.
ARCOSA Tank
. Arcosa, Inc.. Retrieved March 18, 2022.


Railcar Leasing and Management Services Group

The group provides fleet management, maintenance and leasing services."Trinity Industries, Inc. (TRN)
NYSE The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the List of stock exchanges, world's largest s ...
", Yahoo! Finance Review.
Trinity Industries Leasing operates DOT-111
tank car A tank car ( International Union of Railways (UIC): tank wagon) is a type of railroad car (UIC: railway car) or rolling stock designed to transport liquid and gaseous commodities. History Timeline The following major events occurred in t ...
s for lease in
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
.


See also

*
List of rolling stock manufacturers Throughout railroad history, many manufacturing companies have come and gone. This is a list of companies that manufactured railroad cars and other rolling stock. Most of these companies built both passenger and freight equipment and no distinctio ...
* List of Texas companies (T)


References


External links

* {{Authority control Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Conglomerate companies established in 1933 Building materials companies of the United States Rolling stock leasing companies Rolling stock manufacturers of the United States Cement companies of the United States Manufacturing companies based in Dallas Conglomerate companies of the United States Manufacturing companies established in 1933 1933 establishments in Texas