Gross & Janes awarded patent for crosstie pre-treatment

Written by Mischa Wanek-Libman, editor
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Gross & Janes Co. has received a United States Patent for a 'two-step' borate pre-treatment dipping process and related equipment the company developed to increase the life of wood railroad crossties.

“Gross & Janes was an early railroad industry proponent of using borate to enhance the life of crossties,” said Mike Pourney, president of Gross & Janes. “After years of monitoring borate in railroad crossties, we have succeeded in making the two-step application process more uniform and consistent. Receiving this patent validates decades of effort to incorporate borate as an additional component in treating a railroad tie.”

Gross & Janes uses this two-step method in the production of its trademark Tuff-Tie™ borate pre-treated crossties at its production facility in Camden, Ark. The company introduced the Tuff-Tie in 2012.

According to the Railway Tie Association, approximately 40 percent of the 23.5 million railroad ties made in North America last year were treated with borate.

The company says its two-step method is an environmentally friendly pre-treatment of ‘green’ crossties prior to air-drying. This helps protect the ties from insects, stack burn and decay. Following the air-drying process, the ties are then treated with the traditional creosote or copper napthenate.

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