GreenLight Manufacturing

Brief #5

Profile: Can We Make (More) Trains in Seattle?

Pacifica
Expanding the nation’s
Location passenger rail and high-
4223 W Marginal Way speed rail capacity to
Southwest, Seattle connect 80% of
Americans within the
Founded
next 25 years has been a
1995
major transportation
Employees priority of the Obama
Variable, based on available Administration. The
orders & maintenance Passenger Rail
Investment and
Industry Role
Pacifica's team has a Improvement Act of
diversity of skills born in 2008 (PRIIA) established the framework for the program. In
part to its location in the February 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and
nexus of transportation Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or ARRA) into law. Using
industries. Pacifica's
the framework established under PRIIA, Congress appropriated
workforce and management
have combined backgrounds through the Recovery Act a major investment of $8 billion for new
ranging from aerospace high-speed and intercity passenger rail grants. Congress has
fabrication to passenger continued to build upon the Recovery Act by making available
railcar assembly to historic through annual appropriations an additional $2.1 billion, bringing the
trolley restoration and
total program funding to $10.1 billion.1 To date, the share awarded
repair.
to the Pacific Northwest Corridor (Eugene, OR to Vancouver, B.C.)
The Buzz has exceeded $800 million.2
Recent give-backs of federal
high-speed rail funds by A renewed focus on American manufacturing is a central and integral
several states in the
part of the high-speed rail blueprint. The Obama Administration has
Midwest and South have
resulted in additional grants worked with over 30 domestic and foreign rail manufacturers to
awarded in the Northwest secure strong domestic content agreements. According to the
and California. The general Center on Globalization, Governance and Competitiveness at Duke
political landscape of the University, current capacity in the manufacture and assembly of

1
"High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program." FRA | Home. United States Department of Transportation. Web.
2
High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program California & Northwest Region Investments (2009-11). United States Department of Transportation. Web.
1
West Coast points to
continuity in high-speed rail
planning, project
deployment, and expansion
well into the future. Since
Talgo has announced that it
will close its manufacturing
facility in Wisconsin (one of
the states that cancelled its
high-speed rail funds), it is
readily apparent that the
location of manufacturing
and the proximity of rail
projects are tied together.
This is good news for
Seattle, since Pacifica has
existing experience as a
Talgo contractor. In
addition, Talgo’s North
American headquarters are
located in downtown
Seattle. Plus, the supply
chains for railcar production
and aerospace are
substantially similar.
Recent Contracts
Transportation:
 Final assembly of high-
speed passenger railcars
for the Spanish railcar
manufacturer, Talgo
 Carbody structural mod
and interior
refurbishment, AMTRAK
 Railcar interior and
mechanical installations
for prototype DMU
commuter car and
luxury touring cars,
Colorado Railcar
Manufacturing
 Crash repair and
refurbishment, City of
Seattle monorail trains
 Various prototype and
refurbishment projects
including: replica
historic trolley
passenger and transit railcars and locomotives comprise an
estimated 10,000 to 14,000 U.S. jobs. However, the estimated
multiplier for these types of jobs is an additional 2.5 jobs in other
sectors created.3 Additionally, the value chain for rail manufacturing,
(particularly in component parts) overlaps that of other industry
clusters such as aerospace, shipbuilding, and automobiles.
The aerospace and shipbuilding connection to rail production is
exactly what our region capitalized on more than 15 years ago, the
last time we saw a significant regional investment in passenger rail.
In 1996, AMTRAK and the Washington State Department of
Transportation (WSDOT) selected Spanish manufacturer Talgo to
produce new, 125 mph railcars for the Northwest Corridor. The
contract included a 25% in-state content provision.
Meanwhile, faced with the federal defense cuts and aerospace
industry layoffs our region weathered in the 1990s, the International
Association of Machinists District 160 decided to curb the losses by
forming their own manufacturing company, called Pacifica. The idea
to form this company came out of a union project to use the skills
and experience that its skilled workers had gained building missiles,
torpedoes, and ships. They put together grants from the Federal
Government, Washington State, King County, and some seed money
from the Machinists union. Pacifica then procured the 80,000
square-foot former Ford truck plant with access to a container ship
dock on East Marginal Way in Seattle and commenced a major
restoration of the facility. Much of the roofing, power systems,
heating & ventilation, compressed air and plumbing was done by the
union members themselves.4
Pacifica’s original vision was to pursue shipbuilding contacts because
so many of its worker-owners came out of the Bremerton shipyards.
However, the state’s procurement deal with Talgo led the Spanish
company to engage a regional partner to fulfill the in-state content
requirements. The workers at Pacifica realized that their marine
manufacturing and aerospace skills would be well-suited for rail
production. Pacifica landed the contract to assemble five Talgo
trainsets.
But the Talgo assembly contract was not the whole story. Talgo was
impressed with the skills and work organization of the Machinists.

3
Trig, Tali. U.S. Manufacture of Rail Vehicles for Intercity Passenger Rail and Urban Transit: A Value Chain Analysis. Publication. Duke University. Center on
Globalization, Governance and Competitiveness. Web. June 24, 2010.
4
Holly-Gottlieb, Allie. "Workers Building Ne Amtrak Trains Think They Own The Place...And They Do." The Seattle Press 3 Nov. 1998. Print.
2
 fabrication, historic They even hosted a group of Machinists to work at Talgo in Spain for
streetcar restoration, six months, learning Talgo’s operations and taking technical and
zoo and entertainmnent
Spanish classes in their spare time. Talgo was also impressed with
venue monorails and
light vehicle other local aerospace and marine component companies that
refurbishment employed Machinists. Soon, an industry consortium was formed with
Green Tech: support from the Washington State Department of Community,
 Retrofit of over 1000 on Trade and Economic Development (now the Washington State
and off road diesel
Department of Commerce) to explore ways that these companies
powered vehicles with
diesel particulate filters could participate in the Talgo project. Locally produced aircraft
(DPF's) and oxidation interiors, lavatories, and galleys were modified and became
catalysts furnishings and interior architecture for the Talgo trains. Tooling,
 Data logging and pressure valves, metal fabrication, gear making, and power systems
monitoring of these
for ships became components for the trainsets. All told, seven local
same vehicles. Pacifica
is also an exclusive companies in the consortium contributed content to the trainsets,
distributor for CPK- and the project actually exceeded the 25% in-state content
Automotive Data Logging requirements to approximately 33%.5
devices and software.
 Design and manufacture
To fast-forward to 2011, Pacifica is still in operation in spite of a lack
transportable
(containerized) systems of new orders for intercity passenger rail stock in the past decade.
for oil seed crushing and The company has survived through maintenance and refurbishment
filtering work of the Talgo and other rail vehicles. It has also diversified by
 CO2 Gas Solvent working with biofuels, emissions controls, and specialty painting. It
Extraction
Paint and Coatings: seems that the Pacifica operation is well-poised for what may
 Industrial Equipment and become the largest expansion of passenger rail in modern history.
Machinery Painting; On-
Road Vehicle Fine “The President’s bold vision for high-speed rail is a game changer,”
Finishes according to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “It’s not only
going to create good jobs and reinvigorate our manufacturing base,
Jobs Story
Pacifica works strictly on it’s also going to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and help
ground transportation create livable communities. I have no doubt that building the next
vehicles, but the aerospace generation of rail service in this country will help change our society
and marine background of for the better.”6
many of its personnel have
proven invaluable in being No matter if one believes that high-speed rail is the game-changer to
able to adapt to the most which Secretary LaHood alluded, the fact is that changing regional
challenging of rail, transit, political landscapes has effectively shifted billions of dollars more of
and monorail projects. In
2003, Pacifica diversified its high-speed rail funding to the Northwest and California than what
transportation work and was ever expected when the Recovery Act was signed. All of the
initiated its Green Tech local companies that bid contracts on the 1990s Talgo project are
Division specializing in still in existence and thriving in our region today, as our core
diesel emission control industrial capacity for capital goods production is still a major part of
systems installation and
5
Final Report and Evaluation of the Northwest Rail Project to the Industrial Conversion Project, Community Diversification Program, Washington State
Department of Community, Trade, and Economic Development. Rep. Print. February 15, 1996 .
6
U.S. Department of Transportation. Office of Public Affairs. President Obama, Vice President Biden to Announce $8 Billion for High-Speed Rail Projects across
the Country. Web.
3
monitoring, oil seed process
system fabrication for food
and biofuels, and CO2 gas
solvent extraction systems.
In 2005, a Paint and
Coatings Division was
added, focusing in
particular on industrial
vehicles and equipment.
Related Job
Titles
the economic mix in Washington state. This industrial base has
unique opportunities across new growth sectors such as rail stock.
Success of the original Talgo project was based upon the skills and
creativity of a divserse set of workers and employers who came
together and more in terms of flexibility and out-of-the-box thinking
to create no only home-grown rail vehicles, but also home-grown
linkages amongst the strongest points of the manufacturing
subsectors in our region. With the right kind of leadership and a
refocusing on these types of interactions, there is no reason why
Washington state cannot be a leader in rail production for the future.

 Material handler
 Metal fabricator
 Painter
 Parts delivery
Wash. gets $15 mil for high-speed trains after Fla. says 'no'
Top
Shocker: Gov. Walker Not So Lucky in the Request for High Headlines
Speed Rail Funds

 Production
Amtrak Plans for More Seattle-to-Portland Trips

assembler Getting on Track: A group is developing a plan to improve local

train service
 Forklift driver AMTRAK ridership surges in April

 Maintenance State’s timeline for trains on track

mechanic

 Electrician Pacifica
Select
www.pacifica.cc
Organizations
International Association of Machinists
www.goiam.org to Watch
Apollo Alliance
www.apolloalliance.org

Cascadia Center - Discovery Institute

http://www.discovery.org/cascadia/
Federal Railroad Administration, Department of
Transportation
http://www.fra.dot.gov/

“The Worker Center, AFL-CIO is an equal opportunity

employer and provider of employment and training
services. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon
request to individuals with disabilities.”
8
4