See what makes AITX Bude so budeitful…
Bude, Mississippi feels like a second home for AITX. It is a small town but big in personality with great people and a great community. This is immediately clear when you spend a day at our AITX Bude facility.
In between Baton Rouge and Jackson, AITX Bude is in the heart of Tank Car Country and prides itself on being meticulous tank car experts. It is one of the most experienced teams in the region that keep customers satisfied through a youthful eagerness to keep learning new methods and always looking for ways to improve performance. We love all things Bude, MS and are excited for you to get to know one of the best teams in rail.
For a detailed list of shop capabilities across repair services, cleaning, coating, certifications and regulatory qualifications visit the AITX Bude shop page.
SUPPORTING THE GULF STATE REGION
Off the Canadian National Railway (CN), AITX Bude is a prime location to service the Gulf State region servicing tank car freight customers moving energy up-and-down North America.
AITX Bude is the primary railcar repair facility on the Natchez Railway. The NTZR has an operating headquarters on the Mississippi River port out of Natchez and operates into Brookhaven, MS, which is an interchange for the CN.
Recognized for our expertise, employee benefits, safety-record, and training program, AITX Bude pulls leading talent from five surrounding counties circling Franklin County, Mississippi and is a respected part of the community it participates in.
THE TANK CAR EXPERTS
AITX Bude is a full-service shop that works across car-types, but they’re known as one of the best tank repair shops in North America. Their tank repair work comes in all varieties from light/medium to heavy or wrecks. The facility is equipped with a 50 ton crane for unloading wrecks off a flat and never shies away from tackling the tough jobs that others pass on..
Bude is known for its Hot Work. Welding, torching, grinding, cutting… this is work that needs to be taught & planned, meticulous & patient, and above all, safe. It all starts with a network-wide commitment to training and certification requirements. Like all of our facilities, this is taken extremely seriously, with FRA, AAR and/or AWS D.15.1 welder certifications.
AITX Bude’s capabilities also includes Cleaning, Coating, and Lining. Our Cleaning offering extends all the way up to Power Wash. Our Coating expertise are performed under on-site NACE supervision and range from touch-up repairs to more complex interior coatings like high bake phenolic and PolySpec applications. Whatever your needs, we will get your cars looking brand new.
As to be expected, AITX Bude has been booked solid with Tank Car Qualifications which is a site specialty. We are regulation experts with Board Members on the AAR Tank Car Committee. Our knowledge and resources are a mix of years of experience and a motivation to stay current on the latest trends and governance. We pride ourselves on doing the work to get you back on track.
LEADERSHIP
STEVE WEST
Plant Manager
J. MICHAEL WARD
Administrative Manager
Customer Support at your Service
JOEY BUCKELS
Manager Production
JORDAN GILBERT
Senior Repair
1 MILLION HOURS
Record of Safety
January 2022, Bude achieved the biggest honor in AITX repair – 1M Honors Without a Lost Time Accident.
That’s consecutive years without a recordable zero OSHA incident rate. This impressive safety achievement is over 2,500 days (and counting), and embodies a true team effort.
To our team, Safety, Quality, and Turn-Time go hand-in-hand. And, Safety always comes first.
Having a safe team means holding yourself to a high standard of quality, keeping your people on the job every day, and prioritizing your customers’ business. Bude is a perfect example of this high standard.
ANNUAL CRAWFISH BOIL
Every one know when it is that time of year again. Never better than the annual Crawfish Boil out of Bude. Team members from across the company travel South for this one. Food’s great and the company is even better. The Mississippi team is well-deserving of a celebration and never scared to get a bit messy.
“Let’s Get Cray” or “What’s the o-cajun?”
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LEGACY OF QUALITY AND ETHICS
JOE BALYLESS, Plant Manager
It is the leadership over the years at Bude that has built a culture of quality and humanity.
It was Joe Bayless who put Bude on the map.
Known by all as “Mr. Joe”, Mr. Bayless came to Franklin County from the AITX plant in Eleanor, West Virginia and ran Bude for a decade from 1980 – 1990.
He believed that quality service was tied to creating a family atmosphere, a strong sense of ethics, and giving back to the local community. It is the high mark standard Bude still tries to live by.
Some of AITX’s most significant executives have come through Bude, MS and continued to help grow our repair network into an industry-wide leader. Joe’s successors, John Smith and John Ward, led AITX Bude with the same philosophy and ethics as Mr. Bayless, which is why the AITX name continues to be respected across Southern Mississippi.
Below is an article written by current ATIX SVP, John Ward, as a tribute to his one-time supervisor and friend.
JOHN SMITH
John worked at AITX for 43 years starting in 1970.
At the Bude facility, John was the Production General Foreman in the early 1980s under Mr. Bayless and alongside John Ward.
He then spent 30-plus years leading and growing AITX NKC as the Plant Manager.
The last several years, John played an instrumental role advising ITE Management.
JOHN WARD
Next year John will celebrate his 45th year as part of the AITX Family.
John had two leadership stints at AITX Bude. In the early 1980s, John also worked under Mr. Bayless and with John Smith as Administrative General Foreman.
For 20-years from 1991-2021, John was the AITX Bude Plant Manager.
Currently, John oversees the Repair business for AITX out of the St. Charles HQ.
LONGEVITY LIKE NO OTHER
Where were you 40 years ago? Bude’s Finest — active members of our 40 Year Club — were repairing railcars and keeping shipping customers moving… way back in the eighties.
We could not be more proud of or thankful for this amazing group who set the standard of integrity and service that our whole company aspires to preserve.
Over the last 5 years, AITX Bude has had seventeen employees who worked here for over 40 Years. It is an honor to have employees so dedicated, committed, honorable, and qualified.
Here’s to John Bass (44), Elbert Briggs (43), Olen Brister (44), Joey Buckels (44), Delton Butler (44), Alvin Chaney (44), David Edwards (42), David Ezell (43), Ronnie Jackson (42), Glyn Jones (42), Gary Littleton (42), Rudan Pernell (46), James Shaw (43), Alton Smith (43), John Ward (43), Steve West (42), and Dudley Wilkinson (43).
GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY
Being a good neighbor to the community they inhabit is important to the Bude team.
In the past, they have fixed up vacant lots in downtown Bude, removing waste and planting grass and plants.
More recently, the teams from Brookhaven and Bude came together to donate time and money to the Brookhaven Animal Rescue League where they donated food, a whelping box for nursing adult dogs, and other items.
These acts of community-involved are recognized by the county leadership, which is greatly appreciated.
THE BEST TEAM IN RAIL
Like facilities across the AITX repair network, AITX Bude has a unique commitment to mentorship, training, and quality. Those with experience take pride in teaching newcomers. While those that are recent graduating engineers bring new thinking and methods that they can share. It is a culture of collaboration, teamwork, and pride that brings integrity to all we do.
