Kasgro

What Kasgro does

Kasgro Rail Corporation is a privately held, Pennsylvania-incorporated heavy-duty railcar manufacturer and fleet operator serving the North American dimensional shipping market. Founded in 1950 as Garret Company (a railcar repair shop), the business was renamed Kasgro Rail in 1993 when Gabe Kassab acquired the Itel New Castle facility, and has grown into the operator of one of North America's largest fleets of specialized heavy-duty railcars, with 500+ KRL-marked cars ranging from 190,000 to 1,000,000 lbs load capacity. The company serves industrial shippers that require transportation of oversized, overweight, or high/wide/heavy cargo that cannot be moved on standard railcars, coordinating movements through all six North American Class I railroads (BNSF, CSX, NS, UP, CN, CP) and the shortline network.

Kasgro's core technology is a patented tri-span bolster design used to fabricate heavy-duty flatcars, depressed-deck cars, and Schnabel railcars in configurations from 8 to 36 axles — including the 36-axle Schnabel Car (WECX 801) recognized by Railway Age as the world's largest railroad car. The company holds AAR G-1, G-2, and M-1003 certifications, performs Finite Element Analysis for new car design, and operates a 70,000 sq ft manufacturing facility on 11 acres in New Castle, PA with nine buildings, cranes up to 40 tons, and plasma cutting capacity up to 3 inches thick. Manufacturing capabilities span new car construction, heavy wreck repair, AWS-certified welding, roller bearing replacement, and Golden Shoe testing, complemented by steel fabrication, blasting, painting, stenciling, and deck cleaning services.

Kasgro generates revenue across four streams: railcar leasing and rental of the KRL fleet, custom and small-quantity new railcar manufacturing, repair and maintenance services at the New Castle facility, and managed railcar fleet services through Kasgro Rail Car Management (KRCM), a Corydon, IN-based subsidiary that coordinates daily movements of the 500+ car fleet with railroads across North America. Billing is processed via Freight Tariff RIC 6740-G (Supplement 49) under quote-based pricing; the company has no public price list and no disclosed revenue. Distribution is direct-sales led, supported by named contacts for Marketing, Corporate & Shop, and KRL Car Management. The company has won five RICA Bill Walker Awards — the most of any shipper in the dimensional transport industry — and has a leadership team with 300+ years of combined experience in railroading, engineering, finance, traffic, and car construction.

Name

Kasgro

Legal name

Kasgro Rail Corporation

Website

https://kasgro.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1950

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Kasgro Rail Corporation is a privately held manufacturer and lessor of specialized heavy-duty railcars, serving North American industrial shippers of oversized and overweight cargo with a 500+ car KRL fleet, patented tri-span bolster designs, and AAR-certified manufacturing and fleet management.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Railroad Equipment Manufacturing

NAICS

Railroad Rolling Stock Manufacturing (3365)

SIC

Railroad Equipment (3743)

akta.pro primary industry

Rail Construction & Maintenance-of-Way Vehicle Manufacturing (IMACAFAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Freight Wagon (Railcar) Maintenance & Repair (TLAKAIAB), Structural, Body & Corrosion Repair (Carbody/Shell, Welding) (TLAKAIAI)

Keywords

• Heavy-duty railcar manufacturing
• Railcar leasing
• Dimensional shipping
• Railcar fleet management
• Railcar repair services

Headquarters

HQ city

New Castle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Railcar Leasing and Rental: Kasgro provides one of the most modern fleets of heavy-duty flatcars and depressed-deck railcars for lease and rental to shippers needing dimensional/heavy-load transportation across North America.
2. New Railcar Manufacturing: Kasgro designs and manufactures custom heavy-duty railcars including flat cars, ballast cars, ore cars, ribbon rail cars, side dump cars, and Schnabel railcars. The company is AAR M-1003 certified and performs Finite Element Analysis for new car design.
3. Railcar Fleet Management: Kasgro Rail Car Management (KRCM), based in Corydon, IN, manages the daily operations, movement, invoicing, and payment scheduling of over 500 heavy-duty KRL-marked railcars, working with all major and shortline railroads.
4. Repair & Maintenance Services: The New Castle, PA facility provides heavy wreck repair, general/light repairs, preventative maintenance, tear-down inspections, aluminum car repairs, roller bearing replacement, and Golden Shoe testing for KRL-marked cars and other railcars.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Kasgro designs, manufactures, and leases heavy-duty railcars — including 8, 12, 16, 24, 32, and 36-axle Flat, Depressed, and Schnabel configurations — using a patented tri-span bolster, from an AAR M-1003 certified facility in New Castle, PA. The company also manages a fleet of more than 500 KRL-marked railcars across North America and provides repair, maintenance, steel fabrication, cleaning, and painting services for KRL and third-party cars.

Product overview

Kasgro Rail Corporation operates as a heavy-duty railcar manufacturing and fleet management company with two primary divisions: New Car Manufacturing (at the New Castle, PA facility) and Rail Car Management (at the Corydon, IN office). The company manufactures heavy-duty railcars including FD Depressed Deck Cars, FM Flat-Deck Cars, FW Flat Cars, and Cabooses using a patented tri-span bolster design. Beyond manufacturing, Kasgro offers comprehensive services including Repair & Maintenance, Steel Fabrication, Cleaning & Painting, Car Deck Cleaning, and Freight Tariff Services. The company manages a fleet of over 500 heavy-duty railcars with capacities ranging from 190,000 to 1,000,000 lbs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Heavy-Duty New Car Manufacturing Custom design and construction of 8, 12, 16, 24, 32, and 36-axle heavy-duty Flat, Depressed, and Schnabel railcars using a patented tri-span bolster, performed in an AAR M-1003 certified facility with Finite Element Analysis. Targeted at industrial shippers, railroads, and government customers needing heavy/wide/high dimensional transportation.
• Standard Type Railcar Manufacturing Small-quantity standard railcar manufacturing including flat cars, ballast cars, ore cars, ribbon rail cars, side dump cars, and spine cars, produced by the New Castle, PA facility alongside its heavy-duty offerings.
• Rail Car Management (KRCM) Daily operations, movement coordination, car requests, invoicing, and payment scheduling for KRL-marked heavy-duty railcars (over 500 cars in fleet), working with all major and shortline railroads across North America. Targeted at industrial shippers and Class I/shortline carriers needing single-point fleet accountability.
• Repair & Maintenance Services Comprehensive railcar repair and maintenance at the New Castle, PA facility, including heavy wreck repair, rebuilding, general and light repairs, preventative maintenance, tear-down inspections, AWS-certified welding, roller bearing replacement, aluminum car repairs, and Golden Shoe testing for KRL-marked and third-party railcars.
• FD Depressed Deck Cars Heavy-duty depressed deck railcars with 4 to 20 axles, load capacities ranging from 195,200 LBS to 953,600 LBS, and deck lengths from 18'6" to 41', available for lease from the KRL fleet to industrial shippers moving high/wide/heavy cargo.
• FM Flat-Deck Cars Flat-deck railcars with 4 to 12 axles, load capacities ranging from 224,000 LBS to 975,000 LBS, and deck lengths from 42' to 88', available for lease from the KRL fleet to shippers needing maximum deck length for dimensional loads.
• FW Flat Cars 4-axle flat railcars with 30' deck length, 4' 1/2" deck height, and 244,800 LBS load capacity, available as part of the KRL leased fleet for shippers with standard dimensional flat-car requirements.
• Cabooses Fully functional cabooses available in bay window and cupola configurations for crew housing, part of the KRL leased fleet offered to shippers and railroads.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 500 heavy-duty railcars in fleet with load capacities from 90 to 450 tons
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BNSF RailwaycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBNSF operates one of the largest freight railroad networks in North America with 32,500 miles of rail across the western two-thirds of the United States. Kasgro works with BNSF to facilitate the movement of KRL railcars.
• CSX TransportationcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCSX Corporation is an international transportation company offering rail, container-shipping, intermodal, trucking and contract logistics services. CSX is one of Kasgro's primary delivering carriers for its New Castle, PA manufacturing facility.
• Norfolk Southern RailwaycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNorfolk Southern operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is a major transporter of coal and industrial products. NS is one of Kasgro's delivering carriers and Kasgro acquired NS Railway's heavy-duty railcar fleet in 2013.
• Union PacificcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUnion Pacific operates North America's premier railroad franchise covering 23 states in the western two-thirds of the United States. Kasgro acquired Union Pacific's heavy-duty railcar fleet in 1999 and continues to work with UP for railcar movement.
• Canadian National RailwaycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCN is a complete transportation and logistics solution offering efficient, reliable, cost-effective and environmentally friendly rail and intermodal shipping. Kasgro works with CN to move KRL railcars.
• Canadian Pacific RailwaycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCanadian Pacific Railway operates a 14,000-mile network spanning coast to coast across Canada. Kasgro facilitates movement of its railcars with CPR.
• Association of American Railroads (AAR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAAR represents North America's freight railroads and Amtrak, striving to make the rail industry increasingly safe, efficient and productive. Kasgro is AAR G-1, G-2, and M-1003 certified.
• American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorASLRRA is a non-profit trade association representing the interests of more than 475 railroad members in legislative and regulatory matters. Kasgro works with shortline railroads facilitated through ASLRRA's network.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• CRRC Corporation: CRRC is the world's largest rail equipment manufacturer with global capabilities in locomotives, rolling stock, and railcar components. While primarily focused on passenger rail and overseas markets, CRRC represents a long-term competitive threat for any North American rail OEM, including Kasgro, as it expands commercial freight car capabilities.
• Progress Rail Services (a Caterpillar company): Progress Rail is a broad rail services and equipment provider offering railcar repair, remanufacturing, and locomotive services across North America. While much larger and broader than Kasgro, Progress Rail competes in the railcar MRO segment where Kasgro provides heavy wreck repair and Golden Shoe testing.

Direct peers

• Mitsui Rail Capital (MRC): MRC is a railcar lessor with a diversified portfolio across covered hoppers, tank cars, and freight cars in North America. Its leasing business model, customer base (Class I railroads and industrial shippers), and asset-light growth strategy parallel Kasgro's KRL fleet operation.
• The Greenbrier Companies: Greenbrier is a major railcar manufacturer, lessor, and services provider with a broad portfolio including flatcars and specialty freight equipment. Its integrated manufacturing-and-leasing model directly mirrors Kasgro's structure, and its leasing arm competes head-to-head for dimensional/heavy-haul shipper contracts.
• American Railcar Industries (ARI): ARI (now part of ITE Management) manufactures and leases a range of freight railcars including covered hoppers and tank cars, with services spanning railcar repair. Its combined manufacturing-and-leasing model and focus on specialty freight equipment make it a structural peer to Kasgro's integrated business.
• GATX Corporation: GATX is one of the largest railcar lessors in North America, with a diversified fleet across tank cars, freight cars, and specialty equipment. Its leasing business model and customer base (Class I railroads and shippers) overlap directly with Kasgro's KRL leasing operation, and it competes for large-scale dimensional lease contracts.
• Trinity Industries: Trinity Industries is the largest North American railcar manufacturer, producing a broad range of freight cars including flatcars and heavy-duty specialty cars. While broader in scope than Kasgro, Trinity directly competes in flatcar and custom heavy-haul manufacturing and has the scale and engineering depth to bid on the same specialty orders.
• National Steel Car: National Steel Car is a Canadian railcar manufacturer with deep expertise in heavy-duty and specialty freight cars, including custom-engineered rolling stock. It is the closest direct competitor to Kasgro in heavy-duty custom fabrication and serves the same North American dimensional shipping market.
• FreightCar America: FreightCar America manufactures freight railcars including specialized heavy-duty cars for industrial and dimensional applications. As a U.S.-based railcar OEM serving similar shipper and railroad customers, it is a direct peer in the manufacturing segment of Kasgro's business.
• Union Tank Car Company (UTLX/Procor): UTLX (a subsidiary of Procor) is a major railcar lessor and tank car manufacturer with a large North American fleet. While its core focus is tank cars, its integrated leasing-and-manufacturing model and relationships with Class I railroads mirror Kasgro's structure and competitive dynamics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/160818497271928
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kasgro-rail-corp

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kasgro