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COMPANY SPOTLIGHT

Loram’s Beginnings

By Carol Schlenz, Operations Administrative Services Manager

Loram’s beginnings go back to 1898 when a young
Irishman named Frederick Stephen Mannix started F.S. Mannix
in western Canada as a construction contractor on the first
Canadian transcontinental railroads. A single team of horses
was used to build railroad grade.

In 1936, Loram’s parent company diversifies into rail-
way track maintenance. Up until then, most work was per-
formed with simple hand tools and brute strength.

In August 1954, Mannix International was created with
an office in Delaware. The main reason for setting up an office
in the United States was a project to rehabilitate the Alaska
Railroad and a couple smaller jobs in Oklahoma. Later in 1954
an office in Minneapolis, MN was opened to promote the Sled
Rental Division. In 1955 The Mannix Plow and Sled was intro-
duced.

In 1956 Mannix International created its first US manu-
facturing shop in an old pole building in New Brighton, MN,
which after a couple years they outgrew and moved again to
Plymouth, MN. In 1974 under the leadership of Dick Peppin, a 25-acre plot of land was purchased in Hamel, MN,
which is where Loram’s headquarters are today. During this time, there were major organizational changes and is
when Mannix was dropped and the company was renamed Loram Maintenance of Way, Inc. Loram is an acronym for
Long-Range Mannix.

Loram has a rich history of designing and manufacturing the most advanced, most productive, and most inno-
vative railroad maintenance equipment and services to meet the needs of its railroad customers. Loram has grown to
a global entity with offices in 6 countries, equipment in 16 countries, over 250 machines 2,300 friction management
units worldwide, and over 1,400 employees.
With all it’s success, Loram still maintains that family feel and provides amazing career opportunities to its em-
ployees. This employee commitment is thanks to the Mannix family. A quote from Ron Mannix from Leading the Way
demonstrates this “As we look to the future, we recognize that people are our greatest asset. Their ideas, creativity and imagi-
nation have provided us with the greatest opportunities.”

References:
Beating The Odds, 2004, Details Loram’s 50 years in business.
Leading The Way, 1998, A book honoring the 100 year anniversary of the Mannix Family Business.
th
Loram’s website, www.loram.com.

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