Watco Helps Texas Customer Add a New Site in Arizona

When a Texas-based business was looking to expand its manufacturing to Arizona, Watco was able to help the company settle on the ideal rail-served solution.

Pencco manufactures chemicals used in municipal, mining, and industrial settings to treat drinking water and wastewater. Pencco and Watco had some shared history, having done business together at a transload terminal near Dallas. After looking for the right site in metropolitan Phoenix’s West Valley region for over a decade and then having discussions with Watco, Pencco leadership settled on building a manufacturing plant at the Glendale Transload Terminal.

Watco Sales Manager Ryan Krull said initial talks surrounding Glendale began in 2023. “Through discussions with Pencco on how we could expand the business relationship, Glendale stood out as a key market they wanted to expand into,” he said.

In its new location, Pencco will help meet the needs of an area with a scarce or stressed natural water supply. The arid region is considered water-secure due to multiple sources like reservoirs, rivers, and aquifers. But that security depends largely on engineered systems, regulation, and conservation—things Pencco supports with its water treatment solutions and technologies.

Pencco constructed its new facility in partnership with Watco — terminal operator since 2008 — and BNSF, which owns the terminal and provides its rail service. The ribbon-cutting was in January, with Krull and Terminal Manager Robert Edmondson among those attending.

Leading up to that point, Krull and Edmondson were involved in negotiations, site visits, design review and approval, and more. Members of the Watco Real Estate & Industrial Development team assisted with some early conceptual designs and facilitating the sublease agreement, which has an initial term through Jan. 31, 2034.

Watco leases the Glendale Terminal directly from BNSF, so written approval from BNSF was needed to establish the sublease agreement with Pencco. Additionally, Pencco constructed a significant amount of infrastructure to support the chemical plant, so the arrangement required close coordination among Pencco, BNSF, and Watco to obtain the necessary approvals, including environmental review and approval for each of the raw and finished commodities that will be on-site. With Pencco, the Glendale team anticipates an estimated 600-plus additional railcars coming through the terminal each year. Raw materials will arrive by rail, with trucks taking the finished products outbound.

Edmondson said his team is ready.

“So far, everything is going smooth,” Edmondson said. “We’re looking forward to handling a new commodity and providing service to Pencco in Glendale.”