Indiana Start-Up to Cast Railroad Parts

Brinco, a Delaware-based company, plans to launch operations at a former Chassix plant in Bristol, IN, to produce steel castings for rail markets. The new business was approved for a bond of up to $40 million for the project, approved late in December by Elkhart County commissioners, and also has been provided with a $500,000 workforce-training grant from the Indiana Skills Enhancement Fund.

Local reports indicate the new operation represents a capital investment of $34.5 million, and estimated that it would create approximately 250 employment opportunities, directly or through related services.

The 430,000-sq-ft plant is a former Diversified Machinery Inc. operation, later a part of Chassix LLC, that closed in 2018.

Brinco acquired the location in September 2019 for $10 million, with plans to invest about $4.5 million in improvements and install about $15 million of new capital equipment.

Information contained in the bond application describes a highly automated plant that “will go beyond a typical steel production facility.”

The production volumes and types of finished products from the new business have not been reported.