Tyler Pipe, Blacklands Railroad Cut Ribbon on new Partnered Hub

November 2, 2023 – Representatives of Tyler Pipe, Blacklands Railroad, and the City of Henderson gathered on a chilly Monday morning to celebrate the ribbon cutting of Tyler Pipe’s new Industrial Drive location.

Joe Holzbauer, plant manager of the Tyler Pipe plant in Tyler, TX, did the honors donning the giant shears and ushering in a new era for the near 100 year old company and its Blacklands Railroad partner.

“Tyler Pipe has been exploring rail options for a few years,” explained Blacklands General Manager, Connor Defebaugh. “They were looking for a way to bring their cast iron scrap in by rail to feed their production at their Tyler plant as well as a way to ship out the finished pipe by rail to distribution centers across the country.”

“We had approached them a couple years ago about locating on the Henderson Overton Branch (HOB),” he continued. “We had many discussions and Tyler Pipe ultimately found Henderson and the HOB an ideal place to locate their rail facility.”

The dynamic duo partnered with John Clary and the Henderson Economic Development Corp. (HEDCO) to secure the Industrial Drive property where two new rail spurs were constructed to serve the company’s needs.

“Blacklands Railroad operates the railroad between Overton and Henderson, so we pick up rail cars from Union Pacific in Overton and deliver them to Tyler Pipe. Once Tyler Pipe is done loading or unloading, we take the cars back to Union Pacific to be shipped across the country.”

With its iron foundry located in Tyler and coupling and gasket manufacturing facility housed in Marshfield Missouri, Tyler Pipe’s distribution footprint is broad, allowing this well-established company to serve customers across the country. The City of Henderson is proud be the home of the latest branch of both Tyler Pipe and Blacklands Railroad.