An Italian railroad company will enter the North American market by purchasing 90 percent of Delta Railroad Construction. The Saybrook Township company was started in 1957 by Italian immigrant Cosmo Laurello.
The Salcef Group announced the acquisition of DRC and expressed excitement about the partnership in a press release.
Delta Railroad employs between 150 and 200 people and the Laurello family will continue to be involved in the operation of the company, said Linda Laurello, chief operating officer of DRS. She said 60 people work at the Saybrook and Austinburg township sites and the rest, predominantly in Ohio and Pennsylvania, travel throughout the country providing railroad-related services.
Larry and Paul Laurello will maintain 10 percent ownership of the business, Linda Laurello said.
“We were just looking to grow our business with a succession plan,” she said.
Linda Laurello said the companies have similar philosophies and this is the right connection for the future.
“It will help us in the U.S. and Canada,” she said.
The company provides a variety of services throughout the country and Canada, Linda Laurello said. She said services include installation of tracks and rebuilding used equipment. The company also sells new railroad-related equipment.
“We are extremely proud to announce what we consider to be the most important acquisition made by our Group in recent years. Delta is one of the best known and respected companies operating in North America in the railway construction sector, managed by the third and fourth generation of the Laurello family. We believe that the synergies between the activities already carried out by the Group’s operational business lines and Delta’s production capacities can be extremely significant,” said Gilberto Salciccia, chair of the Salcef Group.
“We are very pleased and excited for this new opportunity for our employees and the company to grow and prosper more in the North American market. The Delta family would like to welcome the Salcef family to our company,” said Larry Laurello, chief executive officer of Delta Railroad Construction.
DRC annual revenues range from $35 to $65 million a year stemming from operations in mass transit, commuter rail, a variety of short and long haul railroads, government and private industry.
The Salcef Group employs more than 1,000 people and operates on three continents and is an international railway industry leader in the maintenance and construction of railway and urban transport infrastructure systems.