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Editor in Chief Jeff Stagl
On Jan. 1, P&L Transportation Co. appointed a new leader, its third since 1988 but its second in the past year.
Tom Green, who served as executive vice president, chief operating officer and chief financial officer for many years, became chairman, president and CEO of the holding company.
He succeeds Tom Garrett, who led P&L for just one year. Prior to that, Tony Reck led the company for 36 years.
P&L owns and operates the Paducah and Louisville Railroad, the Appalachian and Ohio Railroad, the Evansville Western Railroad and two intermodal terminals. Green, 64, joined the company in 1995 as executive vice president and CFO and soon after took over operational responsibilities as COO.
He joins the company from CSX, which owns P&L Transportation along with executives in Paducah and Louisville. Prior to joining P&L, Greene held a number of finance and operational support positions at Class I.
Coal operations, which account for the majority of P&L’s annual volumes and revenues, are forecast to grow 10% this year. P&L Transportation Co., Ltd. “I just [at P&L] “I’m hoping to stay for a couple of years,” Green said, “and Tony Reck wanted me to stay beyond that and take charge of operations in addition to finances, and my stay just evolved from there.”
Green did not anticipate his 27-year tenure, much less his tenure as P&L’s leader, but with Reck and Garrett due to retire at the end of 2022 after 53 and 35 years at P&L, respectively, the company’s board turned to Green for his long tenure and extensive experience as a P&L executive.
Board members also noted that he has become a seasoned railroad industry veteran with more than 40 years of experience in the Class I and small railroad environments, including regional and short line start-ups.
Green now plans to rely heavily on his own skills and the knowledge he’s gained working alongside Reck and Garrett over the decades.
Reck served as P&L’s vice president of sales and marketing before becoming president and CEO in 1988, while Garrett served as the company’s longtime general counsel before becoming president in 2010 and CEO in 2022.
“Tom is a lawyer and has worked in law, and Tony has great business acumen and savvy sales and marketing talent. All of that was instilled in me,” Green says. “I never wanted to be a lawyer, but now I’m 60 percent a lawyer.”
He began his career in the railroad industry while attending Ferris State University in 1977, sailing on the Chessey System car ferries up Lake Michigan from his hometown of Ludington, Mich., to ports in Michigan and Wisconsin. He graduated with a degree in accounting and finance.
Green worked at CSX for 18 years and got to know two of the company’s great Class I leaders, Hayes Watkins and Pete Carpenter. Watkins, who led CSX from 1971 to 1991, died last year at age 96. Carpenter, who served as president and CEO from 1992 to 1999, died in 2019 at age 77.
P&L’s three railroads also transport chemicals, petroleum products, crushed stone, clay, railcar frames, steel, grain and feed. P&L Transportation Co., Ltd. “I learned that the metrics for a large railroad are completely different than the metrics for a short-line railroad,” Green said. “I’ve been in finance and operations for a long time in P&L, but as a CFO I’ve been involved in everything.”
He now plans to continue P&L’s long tradition of focusing on customer service, safety and operational performance. But to achieve goals on all three fronts, the company needs more talent — a common theme in the rail industry these days.
Green said his top priority is hiring. P&L needs to have at least 20 more people across the company. To recruit and retain more employees, Green believes P&L needs to offer more quality-of-life benefits.
“We’re really focused on figuring out how to improve that. We’re experimenting with giving employees six days work, two days off and some time off on the weekends,” he says.
P&L, which serves about 200 customers, is looking to expand in 2023, so it’s in dire need of more workers. P&L hauls chemicals, petroleum products, crushed rock, clay, vehicle frames, steel, grain and feed, but the majority of its annual volume and revenue comes from hauling coal. Green says the outlook for that segment this year is quite promising.
“We expect our coal business to grow by 10% as demand remains strong, the spot market is buoyant and exports are doing well,” he said.
Green said that thanks to Reck’s guidance and the company’s focus on strong customer service, the bottom line has recorded growth over the years.
Plus, the company has developed a strong management team, so when the time comes, picking a successor from that strong group will be very difficult, Green said.
“I haven’t decided how long I’ll lead for, but I won’t be here forever,” he said. “I won’t step down until I’m satisfied everything is in order.”
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