Large coal-mining companies have been experiencing hard times because of competition from natural gas, environmental regulations and other factors. These difficulties are also affecting family-owned companies that make equipment for “big coal,”
a
Wall Street Journal
report noted.
Jerry Fredericks, the family leader of Petra Industrial Services Inc., a machine shop in Lochgelly, W.Va., told the
Journal
he has been considering a shift in the equipment his company makes. “We're looking at components for the ATV industry, gun accessories and some custom tooling for gas. But geographically, coal is just what makes this area run.”
Brookville Equipment Corp. in Brookville, Pa., owned by the McNeil family, has lost about $30 million a year in revenue and has cut its workforce to 200 from 300 in 2012, the
Journal
article said. Brookville's battery technology, used in coal-mining locomotives, can be adapted for streetcars, and the company has secured contracts for streetcar projects in cities such as Dallas, Detroit, San Francisco and Montreal, the article said. (Source:
Wall Street Journal
, Aug. 31, 2015.)
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