Our History
Koppers Railroad Structures (formerly Osmose Railroad Services) was formed in 1954, in response to the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad's request to help "extend the life" of their timber bridges. After spending the first decade providing preservative treatment of timber bridges in-place, the company was asked to help repair them too. In 1965, we began posting piling, changing caps and a little later on, replacing stringers. We are now one of the largest timber bridge service/solution providers in North America.
As concrete, stone and masonry structures started to crack due to age and traffic patterns, again, we were asked to solve these problems too. Thus began our pioneering service of epoxy injection to "weld" broken pieces together. This expansion continued into a full service concrete repair including the use of special polymer mixtures to speed repairs in traffic sensitive zones. Over time, greater engineering expertise was needed and that part of our support team also began to expand.
Steel bridge repair became part of our offerings in 1988, again at the request of our ever-growing customer base. This specialized service has now grown into one of the largest segments of our bridge services. It was only natural that our next expansion would be to design and build new structures. In 1996 we embarked on our turnkey design and rebuild service.
As we grow and expand our services, we continue to embrace new technologies in this digital age. Our treating and inspection teams combine state of the art data capture and analysis to help our customers prioritize necessary maintenance and repair. With our expanding engineering services, we have become the "One Stop Shop" for the railroad industry.
