G&W Continues its 125 Anniversary Celebration in Florida
The latest event, held at Deerwood Castle, featured remarks by keynote speaker Joe Hinrichs, who is President and CEO of Jacksonville-based CSX, a Class I interchange partner for many of G&W’s subsidiary railroads, and Railway Age’s 2025 Railroader of the Year, as well as Bruce Nickle, Director of Global Supply Chain and Logistics for Freeport-McMoRan, a global mining organization whose Arizona copper mines are served by a G&W railroad. Hinrichs described the North American freight railroad system as the backbone of the North American economy and stressed the importance of all freight railroads working together to keep goods flowing throughout the continent, while Nickle spoke of the critical difference a transportation partner such as G&W can make for any company looking to grow, according to G&W.
Attendees also learned the role that G&W railroads play in people’s everyday lives. G&W said its Indiana & Ohio Railway (IORY) and Chicago, Ft. Wayne & Eastern Railroad (CFE) transport raw materials for a Tide plant in the Midwest, while its San Joaquin Valley Railroad (SJVR) and Providence and Worcester Railroad (PW) are a transportation partner for Frito-Lay, its Olympia & Belmore Railroad (OYLO) serves a Pepsi facility in the Pacific Northwest, its Georgia Southwestern Railroad (GSWR) serves several peanut customers whose products go into Skippy goods, and its Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad (BPRR) once served a customer that produced the paper used to print Harry Potter books in the U.S.
“We are proud of our past, having grown from a single 14-mile railroad serving salt mines in upstate New York to more than 100 railroads in the U.S. and Canada as well as having developed other transportation-related services that help industries receive and ship goods,” G&W CEO Michael Miller said. “And the future at G&W is bright. We are investing in our workforce through training programs, in equipment by optimizing our locomotive fleet to be more efficient and environmentally friendly, in our infrastructure to match the amount of industrial development and customer investment we are seeing along our rail footprint, and in technology to make rail the transportation mode of choice.”
“It’s really motivating to work for a company that makes a difference for our country and in our everyday lives,” said G&W Customer Service Supervisor Amy Rogers, who was recently featured in a special company video honoring veterans and service members. “We truly care about our employees, customers and communities.”
In a pre-recorded message for attendees, Jacksonville Mayor Donna Degan said: “Not many companies can boast such an enduring legacy. As you all know, Jacksonville is America’s Logistics Center—with critical access to rail, air, maritime and highway transportation along the bustling Southeast Coast of the United States. As you expand your own legacy over the next century, you’ll be working to grow Jacksonville’s position as a global destination for business and a key hub for freight transportation in North America.”
