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car type that you might see on the rail , from standard boxcars to specialized tanks for transporting liquids and gases .

Optimizing customer experience

“ One thing that surprised me when I first joined the rail industry was how many distinct types of tank cars there are . The vast number of variations still amazes me , as there ’ s different size combinations , safety features , commodities , valves , and so on , which all have their own nuances that make them unique .

“ We refer to orders as ‘ lots ,’ so one lot could be made up of five cars , ten cars , or even 1000 cars ,” he continues . “ When we start working on a lot , we typically present the first railcar for inspection by the customer . With the customer ’ s input , we then make any necessary changes during the production run . During the pandemic , we lost the ability to meet in person , so we developed an innovative way to conduct inspections virtually .

“ We worked with our corporate IT group to develop our Virtual Sample Railcar service . We incorporated videos of the car at various stages of the production process and provided close-up photos of the key components , which are then sent to the customer for review . Customers appreciated the flexibility , so we ’ ve kept the process in place . In fact , we ’ re still predominantly virtual , with around 70-to-80 percent of these sample car meetings taking place online .”

As Tony outlines , the Virtual Sample Railcar service remotely brings a customer inside the plant to inspect the quality of their sample railcar . Designed around optimizing customers ’ experience , this service has gained attention from around the globe , winning awards in the US and Canada and being featured in several industry publications .

At Salco Products , we ’ re not just building rail parts , we ’ re building relationships . For years , we ’ ve been honored to be a trusted supplier to Greenbrier , a true titan of the rail industry . Together , we ’ ve put countless components on trains and kept countless cars rolling smoothly , mile after mile .

For over 40 years , Salco Products remains the best resource in the industry for quality products and valuable services . Your single-source solution is only a phone call or click away .

Tank Car Parts • Hopper Car Parts • Rail / Yard Accessories • Trucking Parts • Plant Process • Regulatory Compliance

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