Despite the best efforts of local businesses, state legislators and economic development groups, the Iowa Interstate Railroad has plans to shut down the intermodal facility in Newton. For the past several years, the facility has been a center for loading and unloading containerized cargo for rail shipments to destinations both domestic and international. Richard Stoeckly, Iowa Interstate Railroad’s senior vice-president of sales and marketing, cited the recent economic downturn and the demise of Maytag as reasons for the closure, set for May 1. Sen. Dennis Black, who has been instrumental in forging ties in foreign markets for local goods, said he was very angry with Iowa Interstate’s decision to close the facility. “This is disastrous for the vision many have had for the future of Newton and central Iowa, for an intermodal is an essential ingredient in the foreign trade emanating from our region,” Black said. Black noted several businesses that are utilizing the intermodal facility at the present time, including Alliance Minerals from India, B&B Bedding, Spal, May May Ng and Realm. Alliance imports marble and granite from India and Vietnam and shipped 110 inbound loads last year, with projected inbound loads to Newton this year at 180 and 360 loads by 2011. B&B from Oskaloosa brings in cypress mulch from Florida, and Realm picks up the loads at the Newton facility to deliver to their warehouse. That company has had 119 loads since the beginning of the year. Without the Newton ramp, Black said, B&B will lose their competitive advantage in servicing the Menard’s stores, and, in turn, Realm will lose the warehouse business. Spal is an importer of car components in Des Moines. They had 96 inbound loads to the Newton ramp last year. May May Ng currently utilizes the Newton ramp for exporting pigskins to China and Vietnam. For the past few months, Realm has been performing the trans-load function, transferring the pigskins from flatbeds to 20-foot containers. Ng said she was upset when she heard the facility is closing, but was not surprised. “Service has not been very consistent,” Ng said. She added that in her opinion, the facility has not been well-advertised to potential customers. “The facility can be a very busy place with a marketing effort,” she said. “I know of several businesses in Des Moines who could use the intermodal.” Chris Barton, owner of Realm processors of designer mulch, has been perhaps the biggest user, as well as promoter, of the intermodal facility. He said he has had numerous e-mail correspondence with Iowa Interstate officials, with no luck in changing their mind to close the facility. “This closure is going to force us to come up with another solution,” Barton said, agreeing with Ng that the promotion of the Newton facility by Iowa Interstate has been lacking. “I have done my best to promote it, but I’m not sure I can say the same about Iowa Interstate,” Barton said. But he emphasized that he owes it to his customers to come up with an alternate shipping plan when the intermodal closes. Other opportunities at the facility, Black said, included Wieland & Sons of Winthrop, exporters of lumber and logs; Harrison Cooper of Lynnville, who currently exports four containers per day via Chicago facility; Hunters Specialty of Cedar Rapids, currently in the process of shipping 35 to 40 containers from India to the Newton ramp; and Embracco of Brazil, importing compressors for Amana Refrigeration. Hardly any of that matters, though, since Iowa Interstate officials have apparently made up their minds to close the facility. “We have spent hours and hours of discussion with local officials,” Stoeckly said Thursday morning. “Discussions are over.” Black said he could not imagine Iowa Interstate closing the Newton facility at this time. “They (Iowa Interstate) have ‘ridden’ through the tough times, but now is the time that the entrepreneurial spirit comes to play,” Black said. “I am seeking advice from the executive and legislative branches of state government to become a ‘player’ in the process of retaining and creating more jobs and commerce out of Newton by investing some of our stimulus money in this endeavor,” he added. “An intermodal in the center of the U.S., and adjacent to the two major east/west and north/south transportation routes, is a distinct advantage.”
John Jennings can be contacted at 792-3121 ext. 425 or via e-mail at jjennings@newtondailynews.com.