Business View Magazine - September 2015

64 Business View - September 2015 Business View - September 2015 65 with the unexpected. So, while Palmetto Railways may have achieved this distinction via a long and curvy history, there is no doubt that this South Carolina railroad company is now running fast and true on a very straight and pro- ductive track. PREFERRED VENDORS TranSystems – Headquartered in Kansas City, MO, TranSystems brings innovative consulting, engineering and architectural solutions to solve the nation’s trans- portation infrastructure challenges. The company is dedicated to enhancing and improving the movement of goods and people by creating an integrated trans- portation system around nine key market sectors – freight rail, passenger rail and transit, states and mu- nicipalities, aviation, manufacturing and distribution, maritime, trucking, energy and communications, and the federal government. www.transystems.com Berenyi Engineering - www.berenyi.com Jennifer Humphreys, AICP • (843) 972-4543 • humphreysjh@cdmsmith.com As part of South Carolina’s Division of Commerce, Palmetto Railways is tasked with spurring economic development in the state, but McWhorter stresses his company’s chief mandate and its connection with the greater Charleston community: “We see our core com- petency as providing safe, efficient, rail switching ser- vices. We’re local folks; when customers have a prob- lem, they call us and we get things done and make things happen. We always want to make the right call, at the right place, at the right time. The private rail- roads have shareholders that they’re responsible to. We’re responsible to the taxpayers of South Carolina. And while we’re not appropriated, we are a public en- tity and the money that we receive for the services that we provide are public monies.” This past spring, Palmetto Railways was selected as the 2015 Short Line Railroad of the Year by Railway Age magazine. This national competition is held annu- ally and recognizes outstanding achievement in any of the following areas – innovation in operation or main- tenance, turnaround situations, consistent excellence, customer service, enhanced productivity, community relations, safety improvement, ingenuity, and dealing logistics logistics