Stella-Jones completes acquisition of Tangent Rail Corporation

Stella-Jones Inc. has completed the acquisition of Tangent Rail Corporation, a provider of wood crosstie supply chain services to the railroad industry. This acquisition expands Stella-Jones' capabilities within the U.S. railway tie market and provides the company with coal tar distillation operations. Stella-Jones' North American wood treating infrastructure now consists of 19 facilities, 11 of which are located in the United States.

Tangent serves the
railroad industry with treated wood products, mainly railway ties, through
facilities located in Warrior, Ala.; Terre Haute and Winslow, Ind.; Alexandria,
La., and McAlisterville, Pa. The wood preservative, creosote, is produced at its
distilleries in Terre Haute and Memphis, Tenn. Life-cycle solutions, consisting
of tie pickup and tie disposal, are carried out at three facilities in Alabama,
Minnesota and North Carolina

"Tangent has built a
reputation for excellence on the basis of a corporate culture that mirrors our
own," said Brian McManus, president and chief executive officer of
Stella-Jones. "This strategic acquisition solidifies our position as the
second largest North American railway tie provider and takes Stella-Jones to a
still higher level of product offerings and services. We expect the transaction
to yield appreciable synergies and to be immediately accretive to
earnings."