by pw3901
Guilford Loses Ford Pact.
Article Launched: 03/10/2006 11:45 AM EST
Report: Guilford loses Ford pact, operations in Ayer are jeopardized
By TOM SPOTH, Sun Staf
AYER -- Guilford Rail System has reportedly lost a key automobile-unloading contract with Ford Motor Co., a development that could put an end to the company's operations in Ayer.
Trade newsletter Atlantic Northeast Rails & Ports reported the development last month, saying Ford had contracted with Jacksonville, Fla.-based CSX Transportation and would move its automobile-unloading operations to Framingham by mid-March.
Officials from Ford, Guilford and CSX did not confirm or deny the report when contacted by The Sun.
A company called Aroostook and Bangor Resources, under the same ownership as Billerica-based Guilford, operates the company's Ayer terminal, according to ANR&P. Guilford had planned to build a second auto-unloading facility off Willow Road in Ayer, near the Littleton town line.
Local officials and environmental groups opposed the plan because the development would have occurred atop an aquifer that supplies residential drinking water to Ayer and Littleton. Guilford won a court battle with the town of Ayer when a judge agreed with Guilford's position that federal commerce law supersedes local development restrictions.
But construction never started.
"There's been no activity on that site, which of course we're happy about," said Faye Morrison, chairwoman of Ayer's Board of Selectmen.
ANR&P Editor Chalmers "Chop" Hardenbergh said it is highly unlikely the second facility will be built, and he predicted the existing unloading facility will have to suspend operations and lay off its workers. Guilford has no other unloading terminals and no other contracts with auto companies, Hardenbergh said.
In July 2005, Guilford executive vice president David Fink told The Sun his company was committed to building the new car-unloading facility.
"That's still something we plan on doing and that's why we purchased the land and why we entered into a lengthy court battle," he said at the time, adding that there was "no timetable" for construction. Fink did not return phone calls from The Sun this week.
Ayer Town Administrator Shaun Suhoski said he had seen the ANR&P report, but had not yet spoken to Guilford.
"If this is true, it does represent a certain number of employees that may be affected," Suhoski said. "Truckers come from throughout the region to work out of that facility."
Suhoski said he is confident that Guilford will find a new customer for the facility.
Morrison said that an organization called People of Ayer Concerned about the Environment, of which she was a member, sent letters to auto companies in 2004 urging them not to use Guilford's proposed unloading facility. Ford agreed that its vehicles would not be unloaded at that location and parked on the aquifer, Morrison said. She was unsure whether that issue might have factored into the company's decision to switch to CSX.
According to ANR&P, losing the Ford contract will cost Guilford $4.5 million, between 4 percent and 5 percent of its total annual revenue. Additionally, its sister company ABR will lose $1.2 million, the newsletter reported. <HB> V.F.P.T.
Article Launched: 03/10/2006 11:45 AM EST
Report: Guilford loses Ford pact, operations in Ayer are jeopardized
By TOM SPOTH, Sun Staf
AYER -- Guilford Rail System has reportedly lost a key automobile-unloading contract with Ford Motor Co., a development that could put an end to the company's operations in Ayer.
Trade newsletter Atlantic Northeast Rails & Ports reported the development last month, saying Ford had contracted with Jacksonville, Fla.-based CSX Transportation and would move its automobile-unloading operations to Framingham by mid-March.
Officials from Ford, Guilford and CSX did not confirm or deny the report when contacted by The Sun.
A company called Aroostook and Bangor Resources, under the same ownership as Billerica-based Guilford, operates the company's Ayer terminal, according to ANR&P. Guilford had planned to build a second auto-unloading facility off Willow Road in Ayer, near the Littleton town line.
Local officials and environmental groups opposed the plan because the development would have occurred atop an aquifer that supplies residential drinking water to Ayer and Littleton. Guilford won a court battle with the town of Ayer when a judge agreed with Guilford's position that federal commerce law supersedes local development restrictions.
But construction never started.
"There's been no activity on that site, which of course we're happy about," said Faye Morrison, chairwoman of Ayer's Board of Selectmen.
ANR&P Editor Chalmers "Chop" Hardenbergh said it is highly unlikely the second facility will be built, and he predicted the existing unloading facility will have to suspend operations and lay off its workers. Guilford has no other unloading terminals and no other contracts with auto companies, Hardenbergh said.
In July 2005, Guilford executive vice president David Fink told The Sun his company was committed to building the new car-unloading facility.
"That's still something we plan on doing and that's why we purchased the land and why we entered into a lengthy court battle," he said at the time, adding that there was "no timetable" for construction. Fink did not return phone calls from The Sun this week.
Ayer Town Administrator Shaun Suhoski said he had seen the ANR&P report, but had not yet spoken to Guilford.
"If this is true, it does represent a certain number of employees that may be affected," Suhoski said. "Truckers come from throughout the region to work out of that facility."
Suhoski said he is confident that Guilford will find a new customer for the facility.
Morrison said that an organization called People of Ayer Concerned about the Environment, of which she was a member, sent letters to auto companies in 2004 urging them not to use Guilford's proposed unloading facility. Ford agreed that its vehicles would not be unloaded at that location and parked on the aquifer, Morrison said. She was unsure whether that issue might have factored into the company's decision to switch to CSX.
According to ANR&P, losing the Ford contract will cost Guilford $4.5 million, between 4 percent and 5 percent of its total annual revenue. Additionally, its sister company ABR will lose $1.2 million, the newsletter reported. <HB> V.F.P.T.
Last edited by pw3901 on Thu Jan 10, 2008 7:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
Watching autoracks is one of the few things you KNOW you will see on a weekend in Ayer. Now there will be even less to watch...
Guilford was the big loser here. The revenue generated by the auto rack traffic was pretty substantial. This isn't a situation like the oft-discussed handful of carloads a week Watertown Branch customer. They lost the traffic because CSX shifted the unloading to their own Framingham facility. As may have been discussed before, the auto traffic depends solely on which carrier has the contract with the manufacturer. CSX has Ford, plus a number of others. There wasn't anything Guilford could do about it. They don't have any assembly plants on line. They wanted to expand at the Willows in the hope NS would be getting a contract to haul auto racks; the Hoosac Tunnel clearances were improved to allow covered racks, but NS hasn't brought them the traffic. So is that the fault of Mellon and Fink? They can be justly tarred and feathered for a lot of things, but not this.