Fontaine Engineered Products, Inc., a Marmon Highway Technologies/Berkshire Hathaway company, has established a stand-alone division – Fontaine Intermodal – to design and produce innovative products for the growing intermodal transportation market.
Fontaine Intermodal operates a dedicated facility in Jasper, Alabama, where it produces the Fontaine Evolution Intermodal Flat Deck product. Division President Buck Buchanan leads an experienced management team focused solely on serving the intermodal transportation market.
Kelly Dier, President of Marmon Highway Technologies (MHT), said: “This significant investment is representative of MHT’s long-standing strategy of identifying new, exciting markets and developing sharply-focused, dedicated businesses to serve key customers in those markets. With the introduction of the unique, customer-driven design of the Evolution Intermodal Flat Deck product, Fontaine will continue to be the industry leader in this market.”
Certified by the Association of American Railroads, Fontaine’s Evolution Intermodal Flat Deck includes multiple patented features related to the deck floor and load securement system. The foundation of Fontaine’s unique intermodal product is its proprietary friction stir welded floor and side rail technology, helping to make the Fontaine Evolution Intermodal Flat Deck significantly lighter and stronger than any other intermodal deck on the market.
Developed with extensive customer input, the Evolution design also includes a proprietary manual arm operation that requires no truck interface for operation – as opposed to a complex hydraulic/electric operation – making it fast, reliable, simple to operate, and virtually maintenance free, with no electrical system or electrical controls, motors, high pressure hoses, cylinders, valves or pumps. The Evolution also offers a simple, proprietary winch bar to operate the main support arms, which are larger and stronger – yet still the lightest weight on the market.
Fontaine will continue to provide its key customers with uniquely-engineered, innovative intermodal products with significant advantages over other products in the marketplace, as evidenced by its pending patent applications, including those covering Fontaine’s distinct crank and locking mechanisms, support posts, and deck.