Shane Boatright’s story reads like an old-fashioned, boy-makes-good Hollywood movie. After growing up with modest means in a Southern steel town, Boatright put himself through the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa by working summers for a railroad company. He pounded spikes, sprayed weed-killer along the tracks “or anything else they wanted me to do,” he says.

But also, he remembers, “I was a young man and I listened to what the experienced folks were trying to teach me, and I kept my eyes open.”

He saw railroad companies improving efficiencies while cutting costs by increasingly using contractors for support services. So when Boatright decided to stay in the railroad industry after graduating in 1989 — “I was bitten by the railroad bug,” he says — he asked himself, “What needs aren’t being fulfilled or could be done better?”

His answer led him to immediately open Boatright Vegetation Management in Birmingham, Ala., to keep the tracks clean for the railroad companies. Twenty-two years later, the company is still operating, and Boatright has added others in the industry. The list includes:

• Boatright Railroad Products, which manufactures railroad ties in Montevallo, Ala.

• Boatright Safety Solutions, a safety equipment supply company in Birmingham.

• HiRail Equipment in Montevallo to sell and install HiRail equipment.

• Service Industrial Railcar, a railcar repair business with four Michigan locations.

• St. Marys Railroad, a shortline railroad, in St. Marys, Ga.

St. Marys Railroad is special to Boatright, who says that for a long time he wanted to own a railroad. He jumped at the chance to buy St. Marys and the accompanying 3½-mile spur line that serves the Kingsland Naval Base in Kingsland, Ga., one of just two submarine bases in the U.S. “We move ballistic missiles and submarine parts in and out of that base. We’re proud to think that we’re a small part of keeping our country safe,” he says.

But it is Boatright Railroad Products that probably best shows that Boatright has learned his business lessons well. He bought the company in 2008, just in time for the Great Recession. “We struggled for the first 18 months. We had to make some corrections and do some reinvesting,” he says.

“That’s where Caterpillar^® equipment comes in. We needed to upgrade our equipment inside and outside the plant to rise to the challenge of what the railroads were requesting from us. The Cat^® machines are outstanding, hard-working equipment,” Boatright says. “And our dealer, Thompson Tractor, provides an excellent service program as well.”

So with the recession moving in, Boatright began buying and leasing equipment from Thompson Tractor for a fleet that now includes10 Cat forklifts, three Cat 938G Wheel loaders, a Cat 938H Wheel Loader and one IT14G Wheel Loader. The upgrade worked as intended. “Little by little, as we delivered quality products, we started getting bigger orders,” Boatright recalls. “Then other railroads started ordering from us, too.”

The company’s 150 employees in Montevallo have increased production to 1.5 million railroad ties per year for the Norfolk Southern and CSX railroads, as well as for about 50 shortline railroads that serve as feeder lines to the national companies.

“We’ve about maxed out at the Montevallo plant,” Boatright says, and a second production plant is being built in nearby Lomax, Ala., to add production capacity.

Of course, even the best machines can’t produce success on their own. “When you buy a company,” Boatright says, “the first thing to do is put your team in place and get them working together. Then you get them thinking together, and ultimately — if it’s a big success — they start dreaming together.”

That same team thinking applies to critical business relationships, another reason that Boatright chose to work with Thompson Tractor. “The people there are outstanding,” he says. “They’re very timely. When you need a piece of equipment, they don’t leave you in the lurch. They’ll even put a machine in place for you while you’re waiting for delivery of a new piece of equipment.

“They understand how costly down time is, so they’ll always have something to get us through while we’re waiting on a newly purchased or leased machine,” he adds. “That’s an outstanding quality for Caterpillar and our dealer. They make sure we continue to run. We operate 24/7, we never close, and our dealer understands that.”

For example, he points to his company’s maintenance program. “With a plant our size, our maintenance people can be overwhelmed with other tasks, so sometimes we need to call on the Thompson Tractor people to come in and keep our equipment in top-performing condition.”

Looking back, Boatright can see that his early belief that the railroads were turning to contractors was correct. The railroads, he says, are still moving half the freight in the country, but the number of railroad employees has dropped from about half a million in 1980 to about 150,000 now.

Boatright positioned himself to pick up some of the slack, but he quickly shares credit for the success.

“I’m in business for myself, but I’m not in business by myself,” he says. “You need to put together good teams  and surround yourself with smart people, then recognize people’s individual talents. Always realize that as long as everyone does what they do best, they are doing what’s best for the group, and that ultimately brings success.”