The former Allis-Chalmers site in West Allis has largely been redeveloped into a shopping center and an office park with health care, educational, technology and other uses taking up space formerly occupied by heavy manufacturing.
However, one facility in the northeast corner of the site is still used for heavy manufacturing – for the rehabilitation of passenger rail cars.
Avalon Rail Inc. has been working on the site for 10 years, retrofitting rail cars for government-run passenger rail systems in North America, and for private companies and collectors that have their own private rail cars.
When it receives a rail car or series of cars from a customer, Avalon’s crew guts it and replaces all of its fixtures, ranging from windows to insulation to electrical and plumbing to furniture, electronics and cabinetry.
“It’s a complete tear down,” said June Garland, president and co-owner of the company. “It’s like taking a house down to the studs. But these are moving vehicles – not RVs (recreational vehicles). There are a lot of regulations you have to abide by if you’re going to be pulled by Amtrak.”
Rail cars are usually 10 feet wide by 85 feet long, which gives Avalon’s designers and workers a lot of room to work with. There are few limits on what Avalon Rail can install for woodwork, fabrics, unique furniture, electronics and technology, Garland said. The company has installed many different types of features into cars, ranging from gyms to lavishly decorated board rooms to well-stocked bars and much more.
“Any system that can go into a home can go in a rail car,” Garland said. “They need to be self-sufficient (for electricity). They can get power from locomotives when they’re underway, but when they’re not connected, they need to generate their own power.
“A lot (of customers) ask for whirlpools. But you can only carry so much water (on a rail car). You have to be somewhat frugal with what you do (in terms of space).”
Avalon Rail was founded in 2000 by Garland and Don Geldner, the company’s vice president. The pair worked previously for another company that provided similar services to the rail industry.
Avalon Rail’s sales have doubled over the last two years, Garland said. The company now has about 30 employees, its highest number of workers since the company started.
“We’re actually higher now than before the recession,” Garland said. “We feel very fortunate to be able to say that.”
The company hopes for 20 to 30 percent revenue growth in the next few years, so that it can keep tight control on its quality.
“We can only handle so much change and still do things well,” Garland said. “I’d like to control (our growth) so we can be successful. I’m not comfortable with failure in any way.”
Most of the projects that Avalon Rail is working on now are for government-run rail programs in North America. The company has one small private project it is working on, Garland said.
Its current government-related project will last for the next 12 months, and Avalon Rail will look for similar retrofitting projects in the future.
“Private owners are treading lightly,” she said. “(Government projects) are what we’re looking for in the future. That’s where the work is.”
