[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 130 (Thursday, July 27, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S3749]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      RECOGNIZING WATCO COMPANIES

 1Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I rise today to celebrate the 40th 
anniversary of the creation of Watco Companies. Watco is a Pittsburg, 
KS, based transportation and logistics company that demonstrates the 
very best of Kansas work ethic.
  Following the deregulation of the railroad industry in October 1980, 
founder Dick Webb saw a niche available to serve customers in the rail 
industry. With no line of credit, Dick moved his family to Louisiana, 
purchased a locomotive, and began an industrial railcar switching 
operation. The first customer in Louisiana was Boise Cascade, a paper 
manufacturer, which is still a Watco customer today.
  A company that started with only one locomotive in 1983 has now grown 
to nearly 5,000 employees across North America and Australia and is 
known for its world-class management of short-line railroads, ports, 
and dependable transportation and supply-chain services. Dick Webb laid 
the foundation for the growth Watco has experienced today. He set the 
core values of the company--humility, integrity, and respect for the 
customer--which has translated in Newsweek magazine naming Watco as one 
of the top 100 most loved places to work in the U.S. in 2022 and 
worldwide in 2023.
  Dedication to serving the customers' needs drives Watco's business 
model and, over the years, has contributed to Watco's expansion. In 
Kansas, there are more than 2,000 miles of short-line rail alone, and 
for the last 40 years, Watco has been an integral mover of Kansas 
agricultural commodities such as grain and feed products, industrial 
products such as chemicals and liquid petroleum gasses, cement, coal, 
steel, and plastics.
  Kansas providers rely on rail transportation to move their products 
to markets across the region. Without efficient and varied 
transportation options, a versatility innate to Watco, producers are at 
a significant disadvantage. Last June, a $375 million soybean crushing 
facility opened in Cherryvale, KS, and the South Kansas & Oklahoma 
Railroad, owned and operated by Watco, provides services to the 
facility, connecting it to the class 1 rail network.
  I have been proud to support Watco in their applications to the 
Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement--CRISI--Grant 
Program, not only because of their contributions to Kansas businesses, 
but also the larger impact to the Pittsburg community. Watco and the 
Webb family have made it a point to give back to local schools and 
universities, utilizing their platform to contribute graciously to the 
community in numerous philanthropic ways.
  Companies like Watco exhibit the excellence of the Kansas workforce 
and a commitment to delivering quality service to their customers. I 
want to congratulate Watco on 40 years of excellence and reliability 
and look forward to 40 more years of delivering on their 
promises.

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