Watco, SCH Form Terminals Joint Venture

Watco Companies LLC announced May 6 that it has entered into a joint venture with SCH Services LLC to create a bulk materials terminal network in the Four Rivers area of Illinois and Kentucky.

The network will consist of Watco’s Cora Terminal, on the Mississippi River in Rockwood, Ill.; SCH’s Calvert City Terminal, on the Tennessee River in Calvert City, Ky.; and SCH’s Four Rivers Terminal, on the Ohio River in West Paducah, Ky.

Watco, the former owner and operator of the Cora Terminal, now owns a majority share of the new entity, while the joint venture will be managed by SCH’s original owners, who have retained a significant ownership position in the two Kentucky terminals and have purchased a comparable position of ownership in the Cora Terminal.

“This joint venture will feature the diversity and flexibility of the three terminals and offer a variety of solutions to our customers needing transloading, blending, and/or storage for a variety of bulk materials,” said Dan Smith, Watco CEO.

The connectivity to all major Class I railroads in the area and the rivers will be advantageous in getting customers’ goods to market in the most cost-effective manner possible and offer significant optionality, the companies said in the announcement.

“Cora Terminal is a world class facility that blends in perfectly with our Kentucky terminals,” said SCH Chairman John Hunt Sr. “Our well respected and experienced management team can now offer our customers unequaled capacity and flexibility.”

Watco Companies LLC is based in Pittsburg, Kan., and SCH Services LLC is headquartered in Franklin, Tenn.